North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has told the Deputy Minister for Climate Change that the need for a third Menai Crossing has been “intensified by the announcement of the Anglesey Freeport” and called on him to engage with businesses in the area who are calling for this additional route.
Speaking in yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood questioned the Deputy Minister, Lee Waters MS, over the Welsh Government’s scrapping of the project earlier this year and the mixed messages from the First Minister since.
He said:
“The Welsh Government carried out a consultation in 2007 over proposals that included eight options for easing traffic congestion to and from Anglesey, including a new bridge. Reports were published in 2008, 2009, 2011, and a strategic business case was submitted in 2016, which found the scheme would meet local and national needs, including journey times, reliability and access for non-vehicle road users. This need has been intensified by the announcement of the Anglesey Freeport. In 2017, the previous First Minister told me that the Welsh Government's aim was to see the Third Menai crossing open in 2022. Then, earlier this year, the Welsh Government announced it was scrapping more than 50 road-building projects, including plans for a Third Menai Bridge. At a press conference last month, however, the First Minister said, 'The Menai Crossing remains a project we continue to explore'.
“Last Friday, I met again with Ynys Môn's MP, Virginia Crosbie, and businesses in the Menai Bridge area, who raised with us issues including traffic, parking and the need for a third Menai Crossing. How will you therefore engage with them regarding this, as the Welsh Government continues to make up its mind about what it is going to do?”
In his response, the Minister said the Roads Review “suggested that a third crossing wasn’t justified”, but “it did set out a series of other alternatives”.
He added: “That's why I've asked the Burns Commission to look seriously at that, in the context of its study of North Wales as a whole.”