Council leader says he will fight M4 junction closure proposals

The leader of Newport Council says he will fight proposals to close junctions along the M4 in the city.

Labour's Dimitri Batrouni said residents of the city should not have to pay the price for attempts to ease congestion.

Ministers are considering completely closing junction 27 at High Cross, and closing eastbound slip roads at junction 26 in Malpas and junction 25 in Caerleon as part of a package of measures to tackle the bottleneck at the Brynglas Tunnels.

The Welsh government has promised to consult the council before going ahead. Deputy Transport Minister Mark Hooper said keeping the status quo on the motorway was not an option.

Hooper's announcement on Tuesday was the first attempt by the Plaid Cymru Welsh government to tackle the problem of congestion on the M4.

It follows abandoned proposals for an M4 relief road - ditched in 2019 by then First Minister Mark Drakeford, and by the Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition in 2009.

The junctions could close in two years' time, while a separate 18-month piece of work will also look into a "roads-based solution" which could include expanding the Brynglas Tunnels, or even creating a new motorway.

Transport for Wales will also work on developing proposed new stations in south-east Wales using funding from the UK government, with Cardiff Parkway, Magor and Undy given priority.

The Welsh government has ruled out the "black route" - a new motorway proposed across the Gwent Levels which was axed in 2019.

Conservatives and Reform have said they would build the road if they were in power, but the Plaid Welsh government says it is now not deliverable.

Batrouni said: "Easing congestion on the M4 is always a good thing but not at the expense of Newport residents suffering locally, suffering in their local neighbourhoods just trying to get on with their daily business.

"Someone pays a price," he added, saying even a report published by the Welsh government said "local residents would see increased traffic".

"I'm not willing [to see] Newport residents pay a price that's not their fault."

According to the council leader people in the city "would be completely against junction closures".

Batrouni, who said he supported the black route, added: "We're considering our options to build up a campaign, to build up some petitions, and look at what we can do as a council to fight these proposals."

Jayne Bryant, Labour MS for Casnewydd Islwyn, told BBC Wales that people in the city would be "astonished" if the proposals went ahead.

She said the closures would have a "huge impact" and would bring "more traffic close to where people live".

She said she "absolutely" wanted to see public transport options "accelerated" as the Welsh government has proposed. "That's what we need to focus on," she said.

A report by Arup, published on Tuesday, warned that public acceptability was "likely to be low" among users of the junctions.

It said: "The option may provide some local operational benefits but is unlikely to deliver the wider productivity, resilience or agglomeration benefits of a more comprehensive M4 corridor intervention."

The deputy transport minister, has said he is committed to working closely with affected communities and to "work with the councils who are affected to make this opportunity work".

In an interview, he said: "One of the things that people forget is that it is almost as if Newport works as a system at the moment.

"To my mind it doesn't work effectively enough.

"I've got two jobs to do. One is to solve the problem on the M4 but conversely to make sure that we help Newport and the surrounding areas solve their congestion problems too."

He added: "I'm there to be able to listen and to engage with people and make sure that we make things better.

"The status quo isn't an option."

In a debate on Tuesday Hooper said the black route was not deliverable.

"The protected route status went when it was cancelled," he said. "So, we're talking about decades of work to even get that off the ground."