Chepstow traffic congestion forcing commuters out of town

Residents of Chepstow are already concerned about congestion and air pollution in the town

Bottlenecks and pollution caused by the end of the tolls on the Severn bridges are forcing commuters to move house and change jobs, campaigners claim.

Transition Chepstow says traffic in the town has increased by around 20% since the charge was axed in 2018.

The Welsh Government is working with the community group on measures to ease congestion.

Proposals discussed at a recent meeting include a bypass, road improvements, a commuter bus service and more trains.

Tim Melville, coordinator of Transition Chepstow, told Radio Wales: "As we've heard from a number of residents of Chepstow, they're a little bit frustrated and something needs to be done quickly.

"I commute to Bristol on a daily basis. It often takes me an hour to travel the two miles to the motorway."

Mr Melville added he had moved from his former home near the A48 because the air pollution was so bad and was affecting his daughter's health.

"My daughter had very bad asthma at the time. As soon as we moved house, her asthma cleared away," he said.

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Proposals discussed at the public meeting held last week include:

• Improvements to High Beech roundabout by March 2020

• A commuter bus service from Chepstow to Bristol, if 250 people sign up, by April 2020

• Increased regularity of trains in 2020, with a proposed four trains an hour by 2025

But residents are divided on whether some of the proposals will be effective.

Chepstow resident Natalie Davies changed her job and took a significant pay cut to avoid the congestion.

"Planning permission has already been given for a horrendous amount of houses, so will it make a difference? I don't think it will," she said.