3. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change: The Roads Review and National Transport Delivery Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 14 February 2023.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 2:54, 14 February 2023

Well, thank you for being brief and to the point—much appreciated. So, on the first point about new roads for land identified in local development plans for housing, once you get a chance to look at the roads review, it makes comments on this very subject, and we've had a discussion within Government about the best way to implement this, and this is partly what the review that has already been mentioned that we've asked Anthony Hunt and Llinos Medi to help us with is, to pragmatically marry our planning, transport and climate policies with the development schemes already in place. For example, the project at the Grange near Cwmbran in Llanfrechfa, where, next to the hospital with no bus route, is planned to be a housing estate. Now, we don't want a traditional, edge-of-town, car-dominated housing estate, so the review panel recommends an exemplar project where we build in low car ownership from the get-go, and that's what we want to work with local government to design. Similarly, in Wrexham, the local authority are very disappointed that the roads review panel—and we've accepted—have decided not to build junction enhancements next to a planned large housing estate on the edge of Wrexham town centre, right next to the dual carriageway junctions. Now, we think that will simply create more traffic and will create more congestion. We've said very clearly to Wrexham that we want to work with them to get that development to go ahead, but to do it in a way as an exemplar where we build in low car ownership and we don't contribute to the same problems over and over again. We want access roads to development sites. What we don't want is to use development sites as an excuse to introduce a bypass or a rat run. So, the review panel makes clear that a road in and a road out is what we need, not using edge-of-town developments as a motor for yet more out-of-town roads that generate additional traffic.

As for Llandeilo, the Member knows, and it's mentioned in the plan, that the commitment we made in the budget agreement some years ago stands, to investigate options for a Llandeilo bypass. We continue to do that. We are going through the WelTAG process. We have a proposal for a part extension of the road at Ffairfach, and we will be publishing a preference for the next steps in the coming months.