The Member is absolutely right; we are working hard to resolve what is a small number of objections to the scheme, and the Member is also right that the current bridge was not designed to carry the current volume of traffic, and so it's a major pinch point on the A487. And, as the Member highlighted, the road is also often closed due to flooding, with diversions taking place that leave motorists having to travel an extra 30 miles on many occasions. So, the proposal would see a new pumped drainage system installed at the Cambrian line railway bridge to address flooding in this area. We're going to continue to work closely with landowners to resolve the remaining statutory objectors, and we're also finalising land agreements with Network Rail.

This process, as you can imagine, given the objections that we have received, and our desire to resolve them in order to avoid a public local inquiry, has taken longer than we would have liked and longer than we had expected. However, if we can resolve the remaining objections, then we will be able to avoid a public inquiry, which would save significant time in terms of the delivery programme. Until a decision on whether a public local inquiry is required, I'm unable to confirm a specific date for the start of the works, but I do recognise the major importance of this particular project to the community and the wider area.