Improving transport connectivity is vitally important for Wales, especially if its economy is to continue to grow and carbon emissions are to continue to decrease, two areas which are certainly priorities for the Welsh Government. From the M4 relief road to the Metro, there are a number of transformational projects being discussed that have the potential to be game changers for Wales. However, the reality is that, at a time when the public purse is depleted, infrastructure projects must be carefully planned and prioritised to ensure that the ones chosen provide the best possible solution, in both the immediate and the long-term future.
At the end of last week, we heard the outcome of the much anticipated Friends of the Earth Cymru bid to secure a judicial review of the Welsh Government’s decision to build an M4 relief road on its preferred ‘black’ route.
Friends of the Earth Cymru argued that the Welsh Government had acted unlawfully in its selection of the ‘black’ route as it had failed to give proper consideration to alternative options, including public transport. However, a High Court judge disagreed stating that he was “quite satisfied that the decision was lawful.” As the news of this ruling broke, the Welsh Government announced that three companies had been awarded the contract to undertake the early stages of work on the relief road.
Any major transport infrastructure project will divide opinion, and the Welsh Government’s preferred route corridor for building a relief road to ease congestion on the M4 around Newport is no exception. The decision around the judicial review was greeted with mixed reviews from organisations and individuals in all walks of life from around Wales.
Environmental groups, including the Gwent Wildlife Trust as well as Friends of the Earth Cymru, have, of course, expressed their extreme disappointment over the High Court’s decision and are finding it challenging to comprehend how a decision on the ‘black’ route, which is expensive but will also destroy unique habitats, could have been made when cheaper and more sustainable alternatives have not been given the appropriate consideration.
Business organisations such as the CBI and the South Wales Chamber of Commerce, to a certain extent, share David Cameron’s view that the M4 is “like a foot on the windpipe of the Welsh economy.” The CBI believes that the ‘black’ route is a critical component to the economic development of Wales and is the only long-term solution to solving the congestion problems on the M4 around Newport. The Chamber supports this too, believing that the M4 around Newport is not fit for purpose and the problem hampers Wales’ ability to do business with the rest of the UK and further afield.
However, not all business organisations are supporters of the ‘black’ route. The FSB, a staunch proponent of Professor Stuart Cole’s alternative blue route, says the ‘black’ route would be a “billion pound mistake”. It believes other routes need to be given appropriate consideration and the decision needs to be made in the context of other transport projects, such as the development of a Metro system that would impact on traffic volumes on the M4 route corridor around Newport.
Similarly, Associate British Ports (ABP), owner and operator of the Port of Newport and four other ports across south Wales, has a substantial interest in the evolving proposals for the M4 relief road, given that the preferred ‘black’ route would bisect the Port of Newport. As a major inward investor and contributor to the Welsh economy (figures indicate that the Port of Newport contributes £186m to the Welsh economy annually and support 3,000 local jobs), this naturally worries ABP as the owner of the port, but should also be a concern to business leaders, politicians and the public alike. ABP recognises the need to tackle congestion on the M4 around Newport, but remains extremely concerned that all route options have not been given full consideration. It believes this needs to be done before an irrevocable decision is made that would seriously damage one of Wales’ most strategically important ports by reducing its existing capacity and substantially limiting its future development potential.
Opposition Assembly members were unmoved by the High Court’s decision. Liberal Democrat Eluned Parrot said the outcome didn’t alter the fact that the relief road consultation process was a ‘botched’ job, and Conservative transport spokesperson, Byron Davies, re-iterated his call for a review that considered all possible route options for a relief road.
The issue around easing congestion on the M4 is likely to prove to be one of the key battlegrounds in the Assembly Elections next year and, with a public inquiry on the horizon for 2016, it will be interesting to see how the debate unfolds. The most important thing is that no decision is rushed and no option is excluded. Wales cannot afford to spend virtually the whole of its borrowing capabilities on a single project without ensuring that the opportunity costs in terms of a lack of funding for other transport projects are fully evaluated.
Whatever decision is taken, it needs to be one that looks at transport requirements in an integrated way, so that the solution is a holistic one that will be of long-term benefit to the people of Wales.