Natasha Asghar MS on the shelved M4 relief road history

South Wales Argus

5 days ago

Not only did any hope of alleviating never-ending congestion go down the drain when the project was spiked, but so did £157m of taxpayer cash which had already been spent laying the groundwork.
In the six long years since the axing of the relief road, things have gone from bad to worse on the M4 – especially since the dreaded 50mph speed cameras were installed.
The fact remains we still need an M4 relief road.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic and long delays is something I am sure many reading this will have endured at some point when travelling along the M4.
In its current form, the M4 is not fit for purpose.
These regular clogs are not just a nightmare for those caught up in them, but they are a major economic block and are undoubtedly making Wales a less attractive place to do business.
Shockingly, the M4 in Newport was ranked within the top 50 traffic hotspots in Europe and was the 4th most congested stretch of urban motorway in the UK.
Yet still, no action has been taken to crack the issue despite a planning inspector and Labour politicians including Vaughan Gething, Ken Skates and Jayne Bryant once upon a time backing relief road plans.
Newport West MS Jayne Bryant hit the nail on the head when she said the decision to axe the relief 'condemns Newport to further decades of heavy congestion, idling traffic and toxic fumes.'
Well it seems as though something has drastically changed in the minds of Labour politicians in the Senedd as when the Welsh Conservatives brought forward a debate calling for the relief to be built, they voted it down.
Unsurprisingly, their nationalist Plaid Cymru chums, who never miss an opportunity to prop up this Labour administration, helped them sink our motion.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, a commitment to build the relief road was included in Labour's manifesto, but then again we know they are partial to U-turns and flip-flopping.
The Welsh Conservatives recognise the pressing need for the M4 relief road.
A Welsh Conservative Government would get spades in the ground and deliver the relief road because doing nothing costs more in lost productivity, lost investment and lost opportunities.
We need to get Newport and the whole of South Wales moving again.
Natasha Asghar is the Senedd member for South Wales East.