THE MS for Dwyfor Meirionnydd has spoken of his dismay at the enthusiasm shown for a road project in south Wales when the people of Llanbedr have been left in limbo over their much-wanted bypass.

Mabon ap Gwynfor said he was surprised last week when a question was asked in the Senedd about the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road. The Welsh Government committed to the final phase of the road - an 11-mile stretch from Dowlais Top to Hirwaun - in May last year, a month before they announced a moratorium on road building that put the kibosh on Llanbedr bypass.

Alun Davies MS asked First Minister Mark Drakeford a supplementary question referencing the A465 Heads of the Valleys dualling. Mr ap Gwynfor said the First Minister’s response left him “dumbfounded”.

Mr ap Gwynfor said that the First Minister said the Heads of the Valleys road will connect the midlands to south west Wales and the M4, reduce journey times, improve road safety and add resilience to the network.

“I was dumbfounded listening to the First Minister waxing lyrical about the benefits of the road building project for Valleys communities,” Mr ap Gwynfor told the Cambrian News.

“The benefits included reducing journey times, improving road safety, adding resilience to the network and generating expenditure in Wales. These are the justifications the First Minister provided for this huge road infrastructure project for the heads of the valleys, and all of which apply to Llanbedr and the Meirionnydd coast. It’s hypocritical to use these arguments as justification for projects that benefit the communities that they represent politically but deny the people of Llanbedr and surrounding communities those exact same benefits. The Heads of the Valleys Road will add hundreds of thousands of extra car journeys on the road network, pumping millions of tonnes of pollutants into the air, and will be far, far more damaging environmentally than a one mile by pass for Llanbedr, which some reports have suggested will be environmentally beneficial.

“It’s all well and good to argue that we need to see more active travel and public transport. We would absolutely agree with that, and everybody in Llanbedr wants to see improved public transport.

“If this was provided then it’s certain that more people would use it, especially with the price of fuel these days.

“But even then, we would still require a bypass and an improved road infrastructure. Nobody wants to travel on buses on windy narrow roads. An improved public transport provision also depends on an improved road infrastructure.

“I once again call on the Welsh Government to revisited their decision and look again at Llanbedr and work with Gwynedd Council to develop a bypass that works for the people who live in Llanbedr and along the Meirionnydd coast as a matter of urgency.”

In response, The Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters said: “Climate change demands that we look again at our transport priorities and that is why we are looking at all schemes that are under consideration. Road schemes that are already underway and where contracts have been signed have not been able to be included within the Roads Review”.