Call for details of preferred bypass route

Government officials are being urged to release the favoured route for a long-awaited bypass for Newtown.

More than 1,300 people turned out to have their say on the proposed bypass last September, when six route options were put forward by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Today Councillor Joy Jones, Newtown mayor, said people needed to be told about the preferred route.

She said: "The favoured route needs to be released as soon as possible so that people can find out which one was the most popular with residents.

"We desperately need a bypass here in Newtown and we need things to start moving forward. Residents should be kept in the know."

She said traffic congestion has been getting a lot worse in the town ever since Tesco opened in February.

There have been calls for a bypass to solve Newtown's congestion problems for more than 30 years. Campaigners hope it will finally solve the bottleneck caused by the A483, a major route across Wales which goes straight through the town.

Newtown resident Philip Glynn said "It's a nightmare trying to get from one end of town to another at the moment and something needs to be done soon."

A Welsh Assembly spokesman today said: "We expect an announcement to be made in the very near future."