Following this week’s Statement on Air Quality by the Minister for Environment, Hannah Blythyn, North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood questioned her over both the A55/A494 route in Flintshire and the Welsh Government’s chosen route for the Caernarfon-Bontnewydd A487 bypass.
Speaking in the Assembly Chamber, he said:
“Despite the valued contribution of the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit to the A494 Queensferry-Ewloe Public Inquiry in 2007, the lack of teeth given to it led to my giving evidence on air quality to the Public Inquiry, which the Inspector accepted, and which contributed to the successful recommendation that that programme, or that proposal, at that time should not go ahead.
“How will you ensure, therefore, that your new Air Quality Monitoring and Assessment Centre for Wales works with the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit, and has more teeth in circumstances such as that to be able to make direct representations, for example, during public inquiries?
“Secondly, and finally, we heard reference during the Business Statement to the Caernarfon-Bontnewydd A487 bypass. How will you ensure that in the Welsh Government's further consideration, referred to earlier, of proposed routes for this bypass, that the ‘Black Option’, which received 75 per cent public support in the consultation in 2011, against just 6 per cent for the ‘Yellow Option’ chosen by the Welsh Government, is given attention? Technical Appraisal of the ‘Black Option’ in 2011 found that the number of properties with an improvement in air quality would be 2,730, compared to a deterioration in just 192”.
In her reply, the Minister stated: “Linking into his question on Bontnewydd, air quality has been approved as a priority and that's why I'm working cross-Government regularly, liaising with officials and at a Ministerial level with both the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport and with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services.”