Wales roads: Minister Lee Waters wants no more big projects

We may never see projects such as the Heads of the Valleys scheme again in Wales

A minister has said he hopes there will be no more big projects like the current Heads of the Valleys roadworks.

Improvements to the A465 between Neath and Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, have been ongoing for years and still continue.

They include the dualling of sections and a new bridge near Merthyr Tydfil.

Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters said it was "causing huge disruption and environmental damage" and "not the answer to our problems".

On Tuesday, Mr Waters announced the scrapping of all major road building projects due to environmental concerns.

It followed a year-long review and formed part of the Welsh government's National Transport Plan.

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All future roads must not raise carbon emissions, increase the number of cars on the road, lead to higher speeds or negatively affect the environment.

Mr Waters told the BBC Walescast podcast that the Heads of the Valleys road scheme would not have passed those tests.

Asked if the road was the last project of such scale that would be built in Wales, he said: "Of that design? Yes. I do hope so. Because it's not the answer to our problems.

"And it's costing a billion pounds. And it's causing huge disruption and environmental damage right across the Heads of the Valleys.

"So, I'm not sure that should be the poster child for road building."

'Economic development opportunities'

Mr Waters instead highlighted the Burns Commission, set up to find alternatives to scrapped plans for an M4 relief road around Newport.

"One of their proposals is turning an existing main road and having a bus corridor, an active travel corridor and a road corridor side-by-side," he said.

"So you're still building roads but you're building a road which is designed to do something different.

"It's designed to make it as easy - if not easier - to jump on a bus.

"So when you're making that decision, 'how do I get to work?', you don't automatically think I have to jump in the car, because I couldn't get there otherwise. That's the reality we have to shift."

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has made more positive noises about the impact of the work on the A465 this week.

He told BBC Wales the road "opened up significant economic development opportunities for valleys communities".

"And we've recognised in the government's response to the review, that we want to make sure that economic development can still take place in different parts of Wales," he added.