Shropshire and Mid Wales turbine convoys 'show why a bypass is needed'

The convoys currently passing through Shropshire and Mid Wales have highlighted the fact that the narrow and winding A483 through Pant is no longer fit for purpose, according to residents.

Dilys Gaskill, chairman of Llanymynech and Pant Parish Council, said the A483 has always been a problem road anyway because of the sheer volume of traffic and the number of HGVs along the congested Swansea-to-Manchester trunk road.

But she said the convoys had brought into sharp focus the urgent need for a bypass to be built around the villages as soon as possible.

"If we had a bypass, like they do in Nesscliffe, the convoys would be sailing down the road with no problems at all," she said.

"The convoys are being managed effectively by the police but they are still very disruptive to our daily lives.

"Residents here have been given letters from the wind farm company but they don't tell us what we need to know – what are the exact times these convoys are going to the windfarms and coming back?

"It has already been particularly upsetting for people with daily hospital appointments to attend in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or Wrexham Maelor, who have ended up missing them.

"I know people have been trying to get the latest up-to-date information about when the convoys are coming through but the system hasn't worked so far, we need to see improvements.

"Even on the trial date, there was a two-hour delay because of the volume of traffic on the M6. And there are often delays on the A483 anyway."

The convoys – carrying parts up to 45 metres in length – began on Monday, about two hours later than scheduled and continued on Tuesday when they were expected to reach Welshpool by 7pm in the evening.

They are expected to continue six days a week travelling to Tirgwynt Wind Farm near Carno in Mid Wales until the middle of September.

The proposed Llanymynech and Pant bypass is in the Government's long term road improvement programme although it is currently marked as "on hold".

Mrs Gaskill said the A483 was an old road, with its origins going back to Shropshire's famous engineer Thomas Telford.

"We have heard that convoys such as these could last until Christmas," she said. "And if that is the case, we need better information about the times they are scheduled to come through our villages so we can plan our days."