Residents in Henllys have raised concerns about the speed and amount of traffic on a “rat run” to Rogerstone.

Four residents met councillors from Henllys Community Council and shared stories of cars exceeding the 40mph limit and overtaking other vehicles. One resident said: “It’s only been by the grace of god that there hasn’t been a fatality” and “speeding is horrendous. There is going to be an accident.” Residents said that GoSafe, who manage speed cameras in Wales, had assessed the lanes but decided there was no suitable location for a device. One of the residents said he would allow a speed camera to be built in his garden if it meant one could be installed. Another reported that during the summer, an event at the Castell-y-Bwch pub saw some pubgoers who were unable to get a taxi, put themselves in danger by walking in the unlit lane at night.

One resident said a survey was carried out and found there were 27,000 journeys a week through the lane. He said this meant it was not built for that flow of traffic and now it was not being repaired or improved for a road with that volume of traffic. One of the residents felt that the only way to “stop” the problem was by “blocking the lane” by Bettws even though their children used the lane to travel to college daily and would be affected. He added: “It’s not being awkward for road users, it’s going to be a road user who will be killed.”

Councillors said they would “investigate” with various authorities and report back to the residents.