Llanbedr bypass calls renewed after person hit by vehicle

The one-mile (1.5km) Llanbedr Access Road was ditched last November

Calls have been renewed for the Welsh government to revive plans for a community bypass after a person was hit by a vehicle.

It scrapped plans for Llanbedr bypass, near Harlech, in Gwynedd last year, despite giving it the go-ahead in 2020.

The Welsh government said the "threat from climate change demands we take a different approach to transport".

But campaigners, who've been lobbying for a bypass for years, said the recent accident proved action was needed.

Campaigner Jane Taylor Williams, chairwoman of community group POBOL, said: "We do really need to think about the health and safety and welfare of the people and visitors alike who come to Llanbedr.

"It just can't carry on like this especially with the volume of traffic that we now have through the village."

Councillor Anwen Hughes and community group chairwoman Jane Taylor Williams are seeking a rethink

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Referring to the accident on Sunday morning, she said: "We really feel for the family but we feel for the driver as well.

"If the bypass was built then he wouldn't be coming through the village."

Councillor Anwen Hughes, who represents the community on Gwynedd council, said a new bypass would "make a huge difference", especially with plans for developments at nearby Llanbedr airfield.

"A bypass will have to be built because neither can go on without the other," she said.

Minister Lee Waters said the plan was to "address the issues surrounding traffic in the village and access to the airfield"

Gwynedd Council said discussions were continuing on "options to meet the transport needs of the village" and wider area.

"This would, of course, also include ensuring suitable access to the nearby Snowdonia Aerospace Centre to enable a development that would bring high-quality jobs to this part of Meirionnydd."

Lee Waters, deputy minister for climate change with responsibility for transport, said: "Gwynedd Council have declared a climate emergency and we look forward to working with them to develop sustainable solutions to address the issues surrounding traffic in the village and access to the airfield."