New M4 would be bad for business

I sent this letter out to the south wales Argus today (see below).

For those of you not in the know the Assembly is looking into spending several transport budgets all at once (£350 million) on a few miles of motorway skirting round Newport. Effectively this scheme is a bypass that allows you to bypass the existing motorway that itself allows you to bypass the centre of Newport. So road planning has reached the point where you need to build by-passes for by-passes.

Officially we are now at a point consultation with the motorway. Public, environmentalists, and businesses are being consulted. After this consultation the motorway will go ahead as planned. That is the normal result of such a consultation. Government can say how they have consulted and very carefully, and gravely, decided to do what they planned to do all along thank you very much.

The new M4 would also, somewhat incidentally, though none the less crucially in my opinion- carve through an area of scientific interest, home of cute little mice and voles, and roman ruins. Unfortunately environmental cases- however strong- rarely influence infrastructure decisions. Politicians and the public are both swayed more by economic rather than environmental concerns. For this reason all my campaigning against the motorway will be based on the unsound business case for this new motorway. It is this argument that the environmental lobby need to win if the motorway is to be stopped. The sad thing is that many people couldn't give a stuff for voles and curlews. Fortunately for the voles and curlews however- the business case for the motorway is frightfully weak, as this letter below hopefully begins to illustrate:


The proposed Levels M4 development in Newport would be bad for
business. Tolling motorists and freight vehicles twice- once at the
Severn Bridge, then again at the new M4 as planned, would deter rather than encourage business into Wales.

We are told by the New Labour politicians planning this scheme that the 'economic case' for this motorway justifies the £350 million cost. And that tolling this new stretch is a key to its economic viability. But this 'economic case' for the motorway is shaky at best. Just last week there was credible evidence that one toll at the Severn Crossing was damaging for Welsh business. Are we really meant to think that adding another toll deterrent just a few miles down the road will encourage business into Wales? This new toll will actively discourage investment.

All environmental concerns aside the more you study the Levels motorway proposal the more logically conflicted it becomes. The assembly would be better off holding on to this money and making improvements to our rail infrastructure instead. One key step to tackling climate change is freight on rail. As the new motorway proposal is environmentally unsound and economically incredulous it would be best for everyone if the plans were abandoned now.

Plaid of course are not against all new roads just as they are not against new development in general. Just this week Jonathan T Clark, Westminster candidate for Monmouth, was saying how a new trunk road was needed in the Caldicot area. Plaid are for development- but not when development satisfies only the needs of vested interests and rich lobbyists- but Wales and Welsh communities on the whole.