Following the Welsh Government’s announcement yesterday that it plans to freeze new road-building projects as part of its efforts to tackle the climate emergency, North Wales MS Mark Isherwood questioned the Deputy Minister for Climate Change over the implications of this for the planned ‘Red Route’ highways project in Flintshire.
Responding to the Deputy Minister’s Statement, Mr Isherwood asked what the delay will mean for the proposed 'Red Route' highway project, a 13km dual carriageway in Flintshire that would link the A55 at Northop with the A494 and A550 north of Deeside Parkway Junction.
Mr Isherwood has been opposed to the ‘red route’ from the start and told the Minister he hopes the delay will result in that route being cancelled.
However, he was keen to know how the Welsh Government plans to deal with the Welsh Government’s-forecast traffic increase on the Flintshire corridor, and emphasised both that ‘traffic congestion itself is polluting, and people, having more options than they did 50 years ago, will continue to use cars because of convenience, necessity, weather, locality or simply the freedom of the road’ and that ‘the cars of the future are going to be different vehicles, more environmentally friendly, very different technology, so it's not simply a trade-off, pro or anti-environment. It's different technology, different options, different choices in the future’.
Speaking in the Chamber, he said:
“Speaking here last month I called for a Welsh Government statement on its current position regarding the A55/A494/A548 Flintshire corridor. The Labour Welsh Government announced in 2017 that they had decided on the ‘Flintshire Red Route’ option to the A55 at Northop. I subsequently raised constituents' concerns regarding this with the former Economy Minister on many occasions, highlighting issues including environmental impact on habitats, meadows and ancient woodland. Last September, he said that they were ‘due to carry out some environmental investigations along the preferred route in Autumn 2020’.
“Last October, he said, 'We are continuing with the next stage of development on the Flintshire corridor improvement and are currently procuring a designer to develop the design of proposals in more detail'. It sounds like a lot of money's been spent.
“Last December, he told me that ‘this route was determined to be the most suitable for the challenge that we face in that particular area of Wales’. Personally, I oppose the Red Route and I'm grateful if this delay might lead to that route actually being cancelled.
“But, nonetheless, earlier this year before the election I attended a briefing with Welsh Government transport officials, who told me that the Welsh Government traffic forecasts for the Flintshire corridor were up, up, up. They weren't going to go backwards, whatever scenario the Welsh Government had modelled. So, what consideration have you given to alternative options to deal with that Welsh Government-forecast traffic increase?”
The Deputy Minister agreed that “problems remain”.
He added:
“This is true across all of Wales. These roads have been developed because there are problems, and if roads aren't going to be the solutions to all of them, then we do need to look at other solutions. That is the challenge before us, and that is partly the challenge that we're going to give the commission to come up with solutions to. “