Madam,

I want to answer Tony Newbery’s letter of 26 May (‘Look what the bypass did to Clynnog Fawr’). He was obviously trying to make a propaganda point against a proposed bypass for Llanbedr.

Now what happens in Llanbedr may not be any of my business. On the other hand, what has occurred in Clynnog Fawr has very much to do with me, since I have represented the Clynnog Ward as county councilor and previously as a district councillor for close on 30 years.

During those three decades I fought a long and sometimes lonely battle to secure funding for improvements on the A499, Pwllheli to Caernarfon road. This project involved widening and improving this busy road from Aberdesach to the Nefyn junction/roundabout, almost six miles.

As part of the project a bypass was provided for the village of Clynnog Fawr. Not only was this facility much-needed for safety and access, it was also a pre-condition of the almost £20m project funding that there should be a continuous 60mph stretch of highway.

Obviously, without a bypass, the road through the village would have a 30mph limit. The one exception to the 60mph stretch is in the village of Gyrn Goch, where a 40mph limit applies. Despite tireless efforts, a proposal to bypass that village was unsuccessful because the authorities claimed the costs would have been too high since it would have included expensive engineering work because of the difficult terrain.

What Tony Newbery is obviously not aware of is the fact that, during a period of 25 years prior to improving this stretch of the A499, including the Clynnog Fawr bypass, nearly 20 people lost their lives on this road. One life lost is too much, I hope he will agree.

Naturally there are pros and cons to everything. In the case of Clynnog Fawr, at about the same time I was heavily involved in trying to get funding to re-open the filling station and shop for the village. After years of struggling with the help of a handful of local residents we succeeded. Today the shop and filling station is thriving once more, thanks to efforts of a new tenant and supportive staff. Yes, there were serious challenges. Opening the bypass seriously affected the business, but having faced the problems positively that corner has now been turned, and the future looks a lot brighter with several staff being employed.

As for Mr Newbury’s comments that the coaching inn that had been there for a century closed soon after the bypass was completed. Well, this inn was struggling a long time before the bypass ever arrived, which, sadly is a sign of the times.

My advice to Mr Newbury is, if and when a bypass comes to Llanbedr, don’t throw the towel in, rather face the challenge, adapt, be positive, just like we’ve done and succeeded in doing in Clynnog Fawr.

Yours etc

Cllr Owain Williams (Clynnog Ward)

Pistyll

Pwllheli.