Campaigners petitioning the Welsh Government for a Dinas Powys By-Pass have received their 1000th signature from Vale MP Alun Cairns.
The petition calls on the Welsh Assembly to “to urge the Welsh Government to provide the necessary funding and support for the construction of a Dinas Powys bypass.”
By-pass campaigners say that the only way that the project can move forward is with Welsh Government funding guarantees. They are pleased by positive statements from the Welsh Government in recent months, including by Ken Skates the Infrastructure Minister, who called the situation in Dinas Powys a “unique issue”, and said he would ask his officials to “work closely with the Vale Council to find a solution that can be fully funded.”
Campaigners are however, disappointed that the Vale Council is not more supportive of the project. In a recent letter to Vale MP Alun Cairns, Peter King, the Council Cabinet Member responsible for Highways said, “The Council is of the view that while the provision of a by-pass would partially address through traffic issues within Dinas Powys, it would not address the primary issues which cause the congestion, i.e. the constraints imposed by the Merrie Harrier and Barons Court junctions, and would merely transpose the issue to another location.”
Alun Cairns praised the by-pass campaigners for their work, going door-to-door to collect signatures, but expressed concern that the project may be impossible without support from the Vale Council.
He said, “The by-pass campaigners led by Vincent Driscoll and Andrew Robertson are doing an excellent job of bringing the issue of traffic in Dinas Powys to the forefront of people’s minds and garnering support for the project.
“It is fantastic that the Welsh Government appears to be ready to listen to the community on this issue, but the project will be impossible to get off the ground without the support of the Vale Council. I am urging them to think again.”