The Welsh Government has confirmed that it will give Assembly Members (AMs) a vote on its controversial plans to build a £1.4bn, 15-mile relief road for the M4 at Newport.
Some Labour party AMs have raised doubts about the project, which is currently the subject of a public inquiry, and Welsh transport secretary Ken Skates told the BBC that he would listen to the views of his colleagues.
‘We have always said our preferred option is the black route and we will make a decision based on the outcome of the inquiry, but I think that consideration needs to be extended to all members within the Labour group,’ he said.
A spokesman for the devolved administration said: ‘The Welsh Government will table a debate on the M4 plans later this year.’
Steve Howell, a former adviser to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, told the BBC that building a relief road was not something a Labour administration should be doing.
Mr Howell, who was Mr Corbyn’s deputy director of strategy and communications during last year’s general election campaign, said a relief road would push traffic congestion to other parts of the road network and that the money should be spent on the South Wales Metro public transport project instead.
He said: ‘It is the reality that it is the relief road versus the Metro. This will use up the entire capital budget that’s available to Wales.’
Mr Skates said it was ‘essential we don’t just look at individual transport projects in isolation’.
‘The Metro is designed to primarily transport people on a north-south basis within the region, he said, ‘the M4 is the key artery for the entire south Wales region and it’s essential that artery is not clogged’.
Last month a senior Welsh Government official told AMs that the project is expected to cost more than £1.4bn once VAT is taken into account.
The Welsh Government said that construction could start this Autumn, with the new road completed by the end of 2023 – should the decision be made to proceed with the project following the inquiry.
