Long-awaited bypass plans continuing despite review on new road projects
Plans for the long-awaited Pant-Llanymynech bypass are still being driven forward despite the Welsh Government’s halt on road building projects, Shropshire Council has said.
The future of the bypass was thrown into doubt by the announcement in June this year that all highways schemes in Wales would be paused while a review is carried out, as part of a commitment from the Labour administration to tackling the climate emergency.
But Shropshire Council’s new portfolio holder for highways, Dean Carroll, said he was optimistic that a proportion of the funding would still come from Cardiff as the project was already being advanced.
An outline business case is currently being drawn up after £10 million of funding was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his 2020 Budget.
Councillor Carroll said: “It is one of our top priorities. I have had conversations with the affected MPs and we are pretty confident that it escapes the Welsh Government’s moratorium on road building.
“It’s still absolutely an active project that we are driving along.
“It’s at a much, much earlier stage than something like the North West Relief Road, but it’s still a project in progress.”
Councillor Carroll said he hoped the Welsh Government would continue to support the scheme due to the “huge benefits” it will bring – primarily to residents and businesses on the Welsh side of the border.
He said: “It will be such a huge relief to Pant and Llanymynech – not all of them Shropshire residents. A good half, probably a bit more than half, of Llanymynech is in Powys.
“The huge benefits for businesses are in travel times between Mid and North Wales.”
The road itself, however, will be built on the English side, taking A483 traffic to the east of the villages.
Councillor Carroll said: “The Welsh side is a great big quarry – you can’t put a road through it. It is slightly less challenging through the English side.”
The exact route is yet to be decided, with the focus currently on getting the outline business case finalised and securing the funds.
Councillor Carroll added: “We are at the stage of getting all our ducks in a row in terms of funding sources and establishing the outline business case for the benefits, and also the negative expectations as well.
“We have to consider all sides of it, but it is a project that is very much needed and one we are committed to.”
