Shropshire Star

Work timetable plea over Newtown bypass

Campaigners today welcomed the announcement of the bypass route for Newtown - but have called on transport chiefs to announce a timetable of work so it is not allowed to "drift in a sea of bureacracy".

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Campaigners today welcomed the announcement of the bypass route for Newtown - but have called on transport chiefs to announce a timetable of work so it is not allowed to "drift in a sea of bureacracy".

Civic leaders, residents and politicians want the Welsh Assembly to take immediate action to alleviate traffic problems in Newtown. It comes after government officials unveiled the preferred route which campaigners hope will end the A483 bottleneck.

Glyn Davies, Montgomeryshire MP, said there was still two questions to be asked.

He said: "We have been waiting a long time to hear this news, but there are still two questions that are playing on my mind.

"The first is, when will the work on the bypass begin and what are they going to do to alleviate the traffic problems in the short term before the work begins.

"I still think there is mileage in looking at bringing in a roundabout again for a trial period."

Councillor Russell George, town and county councillor for Newtown, said the announcement failed to provide vital information on a timetable for a start date through to completion.

"We must not forget that a planned bypass route for Newtown has a 40 year history including a protected route dating back to the 1970s," he said.

"We need commitment on dates and a timetable which conveys a strong sense of urgency. This must not be allowed to drift in a sea of bureaucracy. A route announcement on its own is not enough."

He added: "We need immediate measures to offer some relief to the traffic problems without waiting until 2016, a date suggested to me by assembly officials as a completion date."

Councillor George has launched a petition calling for a short-term solution to traffic problems which had attracted 1,000 names in five days.

Newtown resident Philip Glynn said he believed the bypass was a waste of time.

"I don't think any thought has been given to this preferred route for the bypass. I personally don't think we need one, we just need the traffic lights and road layout to be changed.

"Having a bypass would destroy Newtown and stop people coming into the town."

By Anwen Evans

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