UK Government cabinet member tells the Welsh Government to stop …

The Welsh Government should commit to building new roads in Wales, the UK's transport secretary has said. Mark Harper was asked in the House of Commons about the possibility of a third Menai crossing.

Ynys Môn MP Conservative MP Virginia Crosbie told transport secretary Mark Harper while she "welcomed" a £1bn announcement for the north Wales rail line to electrified,[1] "the best connectivity we can have for our motorists is a third Menai crossing". She asked Mr Harper what the UK Government could do "now the Welsh Labour[2] government in Cardiff[3] has banned new road building schemes".

Mr Harper told her road building was devolved and a responsibility of the Welsh Government[4] which "emphasises damage to Welsh and UK economy by Labour's decision to ban all new road building which I very much hope they will revisit".

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The Welsh Government announced in June 2021 that all new road building projects were being frozen and each reviewed as to whether they should go ahead. You can read that here, and you can get all the latest politics news and analysis by subscribing to our Wales Matters newsletter here.[7][8]

There have been repeated calls made for a third crossing to join the existing Menai Suspension Bridge and Britannia Bridge however, in February, the Welsh Government said the scheme would not be going ahead as part of its review into roads. Calls for a third crossing were heightened when the Menai Suspension Bridge had to be closed to all traffic after engineers identified a structural concern.

In September, a Welsh government spokesperson said it had "not banned road building in Wales" and was instead investing in "more sustainable transport". "The North Wales Transport Commission is considering options for improving connections to and from Ynys Môn. Final recommendations are yet to be made, but the interim report sets out an approach to make the current infrastructure and bridges work better."

The Welsh Government was asked to respond to Mr Harper's comments.

References

  1. ^ 1bn announcement for the north Wales rail line to electrified, (www.walesonline.co.uk)
  2. ^ Labour (www.walesonline.co.uk)
  3. ^ Cardiff (www.walesonline.co.uk)
  4. ^ Welsh Government (www.walesonline.co.uk)
  5. ^ The Nigel Farage GB News show lands in Cardiff for one night with a stunt and a trip to a social club (www.walesonline.co.uk)
  6. ^ Cardiff street cordoned off after reports of stabbing (www.walesonline.co.uk)
  7. ^ here (www.walesonline.co.uk)
  8. ^ here. (www.walesonline.co.uk)