M4 Gwent levels motorway proposal

Friends of the Earth Cymru today urged Assembly members to reject outright the idea of a M4 Gwent Levels motorway. The Assembly's transport committee will be discussing the motorway proposal tomorrow (Wed). The pressure group say that the £300 million plus motorway would be unaffordable, traffic generating, socially exclusive and deeply damaging to the credibility of the Welsh Assembly's remit to sustainable development. Rejecting the Gwent Levels motorway would be one of the first major steps towards setting Wales on course to a sustainable future say the campaigners.

Neil Crumpton, transport spokesperson for FOE Cymru said:

"We believe that many of the Assembly members realise that the £300 million plus Gwent Levels motorway idea is simply not on. The credibility of the Assembly's world-leading sustainable development remit would be left in tatters, the financing would damage transport provision in every corner of Wales, and the traffic growth would send shock waves into the future. In England they are saddling themselves with the £500 million Birmingham Northern Relief Road (BNRR), in Wales we believe that the Assembly is well placed to reject the motorway nonsense and deliver something positive, confident and sustainable for the future."