‘M48 access and Severn bridge can ease Chepstow congestion’

Chepstow already suffers from rush hour congestion and there is concern plans for thousands of new homes on both sides of the border will add further pressures to the under-strain road network. Welsh economy and transport minister Ken Skates met with Monmouthshire County Council's deputy leader, and Chepstow councillor, Paul Griffiths last week to discuss transport around the town. The councillor has also suggested a new bridge across the Severn instead of a Chepstow by-pass some have called for.

Cllr Griffiths said: "Ken Skates confirmed that a study will immediately take place on how to improve the flow of traffic around High Beech roundabout in Chepstow. I was able to make the case for creating new junctions on the M48 so that commuters from Caldicot do not need to travel through Chepstow and those catching a train at Severn Tunnel can transfer from the M48." Monmouthshire council has long argued for new access to the M48, including a new junction from the Severn Tunnel Junction railway station - an idea rejected by a Welsh Government review of new road schemes [1] in February 2023.

Repeated announcements of studies of the High Beech roundabout [2] have also met with criticism and complaints the problem has been identified and the Welsh Government is avoiding taking action. But Labour's Cllr Griffiths has insisted a Chepstow by-pass, which is often touted as a solution to congestion clogging up the town and supported by local Conservatives including former MP and Welsh secretary David Davies, isn't a viable solution. He said: "A new road bridge, from Sedbury to Thornwelll, the Chepstow by-pass, is technically complex and would cost well over GBP300 million.

It would merely shift the congestion from High Beech to Thornwell as traffic queues to get on the M48." Plans for new housing in Chepstow and neighbouring areas in England have made finding a solution more pressing. Monmouthshire is planning 700 homes east of Caldicot and 145 in Chepstow [3] over the next twenty years in its proposed development plan while The Forest of Dean Council's local plan includes expanding Lydney by 2,400 homes and Beachley by 600 [4].

The Welsh council wrote to the Forest of Dean in October 2022 stating it couldn't support its housing plans unless [5] it included a "comprehensive and funded package of transport improvements" and suggested new walking and cycling [6] routes to Chepstow train station, increased rail services and a park and ride east of Chepstow Cllr Griffiths has faced criticism in the council chamber for demanding of The Forest of Dean transport improvements critics claim Monmouthshire has failed to produce in line with its own plan. The councillor however said English authorities, including the new Labour government, should be seeking solutions to transport problems if they plan more houses, which he recognised are required on both sides of the border.

"If the objective is to give the 4,000 extra residents of Lydney access to the motorway the answer is more likely to be a bridge, across the Severn, from Lydney to Sharpness following the course of the former railway bridge," said Cllr Griffiths. "My suggestion to the Forest of Dean Council, Gloucestershire County Council and the new transport ministers in England is that where they want more housing they can provide their own transport solution, a new bridge across the Severn, without adding to the congestion in Chepstow." Consultation on the Forest of Dean's local plan closes on Monday, August 19.

Monmouthshire council is expected to put its draft local development plan out for consultation in the autumn.

References

^ an idea rejected by a Welsh Government review of new road schemes (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
^ studies of the High Beech roundabout (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
^ is planning 700 homes east of Caldicot and 145 in Chepstow (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
^ expanding Lydney by 2,400 homes and Beachley by 600 (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
^ wrote to the Forest of Dean in October 2022 stating it couldn't support its housing plans unless (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
^ cycling (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)