New deputy minister for transport addresses need for key infrastructure resilience

The Welsh Government’s new deputy transport minister has highlighted the need for “key infrastructure resilience” across the country.

Mark Hooper, who was elected to Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg for Plaid Cymru last month announced a “short, focused programme of work to explore realistic options across road, rail and bus interventions”.

There would be, he said, an emphasis on solutions that were “practical, deliverable and capable of making a meaningful difference in the near to medium term”.

Speaking to the Siambr on Tuesday 9 June, Mr Hooper shared that the repeated closures of the Menai bridge in recent weeks were due to the 7.5 tonne vehicle weight limit being exceeded.

He said: “When the weight restrictions are breached, precautionary structural inspections are required, and that, in turn, means closure and disruption to those in the area. Ensuring the safety of the structure, the workforce and the public must come first.”

Mr Hooper said the government is working with North Wales Police and the DVSA to undertake further enforcement action against such breaches.

He also addressed problems with the M4 in south Wales.

The minister said: “Both the Menai crossings and the M4 illustrate the wider challenge of managing ageing infrastructure in the face of increasing demand.

“In the north of the country, we are progressing both immediate measures and longer term options to strengthen resilience across the Menai strait, including considering detailed options for a third crossing.

“In the south of the country, we are undertaking targeted work to identify a clear and deliverable strategy for the M4 corridor.

“Whilst these works can be disruptive, they are necessary to ensure safety and to support the longer term reliability of our transport network.”

“Firm commitments”

Labour’s spokesperson for transport, Vikki Howells, told the minister that Wales needed “firm commitments” to improve infrastructure.

She said: “We need road networks that don’t hold people up, buses that support people getting to work, an accessible train network, a national airport to raise Wales’ global profile and attract inward investment, and we need to ensure that our active travel infrastructure works right across Wales.”

Ms Howells welcomed the early statement on the Menai Bridge crossing but pressed the minister to confirm if work on the bridge would be completed by spring 2027 – as was planned by the previous Labour administration.

The transport minister said the government would “try and keep” to the 2027 date but that it must be careful about suggesting dates that won’t happen.

“Significant damage”

Noting that as Mr Hooper is new to both the role of transport minister and the Senedd itself, Janet Finch-Saunders announced she won’t “blame [him] just yet” for the “damage” done to transport infrastructure in Wales.

The Conservative spokesperson for enterprise, connectivity and energy said: “Under the last Welsh Labour Government – supported, of course, by your party now, Plaid Cymru – we did see significant damage done to our transport system through a series of misguided policies and decisions.”

Ms Finch-Saunders criticised the prioritisation of active travel schemes, the freezing of major road building projects, and the implementation of 20mph speed limits during the previous Senedd.

She told the minister the “key” to a strong economy and society was a “strong transport system and modern infrastructure.”

The Tory spokesperson called for the building of the third Menai crossing, the delivery of the M4 relief road, and the electrification of the north Wales main line among other projects.

Mr Hooper responded: “One of the things that’s important is that we’re talking about how we make sure that our transport system works for the whole of Wales.

“I think that’s something that’s central to how I want to tackle this job and the things that are really important to me.

“There are things that will be different in the way we approach it, but one of the things that I’m keen for us to do in the relationship that we have, broadly, across this Siambr, is that we work with data.”

“Hallmark”

Reform UK’s shadow minister for economy and transport, Jason O’Connell, told the Siambr that Wales needs a transport network which enables it to “unleash” its economic potential.

Describing the A55 as the “economic backbone of north Wales”, Mr O’Connell called for the minister to confirm if he intends to widen the A55 “where appropriate” as proposed by Reform.

He also quizzed Mr Hooper on his plans for the M4 stating that Plaid offers “plans for plans” in the statement but have not presented a “firm solution”.

He said: “Motorists have been stuck with a Plaid-backed Labour Government that’s been tough on motorists and soft on infrastructure for the last 27 years.

“They pushed excessive 20 mph speed limits, slowing down the Welsh economy, wasted £150 million of taxpayers’ money on cancelled plans for the M4 relief road.

“Now, Minister, many motorists are waiting with bated breath to see how this new government will treat motorists.”

Pressing the transport minister for his “actual specific plans”, Mr O’Connell described the minister’s statement as “severely lacking in details” – a feature he described as a “hallmark” of the Plaid Cymru government so far.

The deputy cabinet minister pledged to “come back to members in the autumn” with detailed plans, noting that he welcomes the scrutiny under which they will be placed.

He said: “I think what we’re looking at is something that is really going to make a difference to the people of Wales. That’s what we’re intending to do.

“I think that some of these things, there are restrictions around the M4. It’s clear you’ve got the Severn one side and you’ve got mountains and hills the other side, that restrict what you do, with a growing population in the middle of it. So, you need to make things work.”

Mr Hooper also emphasised the importance of public transport in unlocking productivity in Wales.