Dear Mr Powell,
Thank you for your letter of
30 July regarding the Junction 41 closure on the M4 at Port
Talbot.
I should start by saying that
that the Council was clear in its opposition to the earlier more
comprehensive proposal for junction closures both east and west
bound, reflecting views locally. However, to her credit, the
Minister for Economy, Science and Transport listened carefully to
the representations made by the Council, the local community and
the business community. Following Mrs Hart’s meeting with the
Leader of the Council and local interests earlier this year, there
has been close consultation in recent months with all interested
parties over the more limited peak period trial closures that are
now in place. At the time of writing, you will appreciate
that it is too early to comment on the trial itself as it has been
in operation for little more than a week.
Whilst it is, of course, the
responsibility of the Welsh Government to manage motorways and
trunk roads, the Council has a clear responsibility to engage in
this process to manage and mitigate the impact on the local road
network. This is what we have been doing in close consultation with
the Minister’s officials and local people.
I should stress that the
Council also has wider issues to take into account (arguably from
J38 at Margam to J43 at Llandarcy and including Port Talbot town
centre itself). In other words, given the full range of
regeneration programmes in the area - and related infrastructure
improvements - there are wider considerations to ensuring optimum
traffic flows and access. These include the following (this part of
my letter might be best read against a road map of the
area):
·
The completion of the Harbour Way
Peripheral Distributor Road last Autumn;
The
redevelopment of the Port Talbot Parkway Railway Station (ongoing
and for completion by June 2015 at the latest);
