Senedd members roundly rejected Conservative calls to deliver an M4 relief road, six years on from the Welsh Government pulling the plug on the project.
Sam Rowlands described the M4 relief road as a golden opportunity, not only to ease congestion for motorists but also to boost the economy.
The Conservatives’ shadow finance secretary said the Welsh Government spent £135m of public money on the project before it was scrapped in June 2019.
He accused then-first minister Mark Drakeford of breaking a pledge on the £1.6bn relief road and going against an inquiry’s finding that the costs would outweigh the benefits two to one.
Mr Rowlands told the Senedd: “At every step of this journey, there’s been indecision and money wasted. At the end of it all, it’s been the Welsh people who’ve had to suffer as a result. And nothing has been done to ease congestion around Newport ever since.”
‘Discredited’
Peredur Owen Griffiths, Plaid Cymru’s shadow transport secretary, criticised the Tories for calling for a new road through a site of special scientific interest.
Calling for a more affordable and environmentally sustainable solution, he raised the lengthy and costly completion of the Heads of the Valleys Road improvements.
He told the Senedd: “After 23 years of roadworks and around £2bn later, [the] Welsh Government will now pay more than £40m a year for 30 years to a private firm before the road will be publicly owned in 2055.”
Mr Owen Griffiths, who represents South Wales East, criticised the Welsh Government for being “too slow” to put forward a genuine alternative solution to M4 congestion.
Labour’s Jenny Rathbone accused the Conservatives of coming up with “nothing better than decrying an old and discredited plan”.
‘Gridlock’
She said: “If you’re in a hole, stop digging, the reason being that it was completely pointless to spend £1.5bn-plus – £2bn in reality – on a scheme that would only cause more congestion two or three years later. That is not a good way to spend money.”
Her colleague John Griffiths welcomed £445m from the UK spending review for rail in Wales, including three new railway stations planned in his Newport East constituency.
Mr Griffiths called for urgency in taking forward the recommendations of the Burns commission “after far too much delay”.
Natasha Asghar said her constituents in South Wales East are regularly faced with bumper-to-bumper traffic and long delays on the route which is not fit for purpose.
“These never ending clogs are not just a nightmare for those stuck in them, they’re also a major economic roadblock,” she said. “The constant gridlock and unreliable nature of the M4 is undoubtedly making Wales a less attractive place to do business.”
‘Nonsense’
The Conservative warned things have gone from bad to worse, stressing: “Nothing is working. And the fact remains: we still need an M4 relief road here in 2025.”
Lee Waters pointed out that then-PM Boris Johnson said the UK Government would build a new M4 in 2020 to “provide the Vicks inhaler to the nostrils of the Welsh dragon”.
But Mr Waters, a former Labour transport minister, said a subsequent review backed the Burns commission recommendations as the best way to relieve congestion.
“So, so much for the Conservatives consistently supporting an M4,” he told the Senedd. “Their own government in London set up a commission which rejected them.”
Arguing that no money followed the review, Mr Waters stressed: “It completely contradicts everything they’ve said and they are talking absolute nonsense.”
‘Monumental’
Wales’ transport secretary Ken Skates told Senedd members that the Welsh Government has not stood still since the decision to scrap the M4 relief road.
He said plans for five new railway stations in south-east Wales will enable thousands of extra train journeys a year, reducing congestion on the M4 by offering a sustainable alternative.
Mr Skates described funding from the UK Government for relief lines and stations as a “monumental step forward” for the region and for Wales.
Turning to devolved responsibilities, he said: “We’re investing over £1bn to upgrade the core valleys lines and delivering a turn-up-and-go metro service. This will transform rail travel.”
Senedd members voted 32-12 against the Tory motion following the debate on June 18