Questions have been raised over the role officers have within Caerphilly County Borough Council after a proposal to close Caerphilly’s Mountain Road was made public.
Confusion reigned over the weekend after Penyrheol councillor Lindsay Whittle, a former leader of the council, revealed details of the scheme on social media.
The veteran Plaid Cymru politician was among 11 councillors to have received an email from a senior council engineer.
The email said the council had been awarded almost £1 million from the Welsh Government’s Local Sustainable Transport Response Fund, with a proportion allocated to closing a section of the road to vehicles.
It is understood that an investigation is underway into how the email ended up being sent.
Labour, which controls the council, has been clear the plan would not have happened if it had progressed further.
Read the email in full here
Subject: Local Sustainable Transport Response Fund – Caerphilly Mountain
Dear Councillors,
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented changes that affect all aspects of our lives and, as I am sure that you will have observed, transport, across all modes, has been particularly affected. With the restrictions imposed, we have seen large reductions in motorised traffic on all parts of the road network, much reduced patronage of buses and trains, high levels of home working and, so far anecdotally, higher rates of walking and cycling, both for essential journeys and for daily exercise. For the sake of the air we all breathe and the world’s climate and public health we need to try and lock in this mode shift to active travel modes and reduction in car use that we are currently experiencing. In order to support these changes Welsh Government has recently released funding to local authorities (Local Sustainable Transport Response Fund) to implement ‘pop-up’ measures / low-cost solutions to reallocate road space in favour of sustainable forms of transport.
I am very pleased to inform you that the Council has successfully secured almost £1 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Response Fund, a proportion of which has been allocated for a proposed scheme on Caerphilly mountain which will benefit the town centre by reducing the volume of through traffic.
The proposal is to prohibit all vehicles (except cycles) from driving along the B4623 on the Mountain Road in both directions between the entrance to the snack bar car park and the large layby to the south of the entrance to Cwmwbwb Lodge. The closure would be implemented using physical barriers to prevent vehicular access. Pedestrian and cycle access would be maintained. Details of the scheme proposals are shown in the attached drawing.
Whilst the proposed scheme is being funded from the Local Transport Response Fund, I would draw your attention to the fact that it will offer a number of wider benefits including supporting the initiatives in the Air Quality Management Area Action Plan as well as the Caerphilly Placemaking Plan.
It is acknowledged that the scheme will have a significant impact on traffic movements within the town centre as well as the surrounding area and that the local community may have mixed views on the proposals. However the traffic regulation order and associated measures will initially be implemented on an experimental basis to enable their impact to be assessed before any permanent scheme is taken forward. The scheme would be implemented using a variety of removable traffic management measures and the experimental order would be in force for a maximum period of 18 months and would be monitored during that time.
Any comments or objections received during the first six month period will be fully considered by the Head of Infrastructure who can make any amendments deemed appropriate before deciding whether the order should be made permanent or revoked.
I would be grateful for any comments you may have by 24th July.
Please note that this information isn’t for wider dissemination at this point. The public will have an opportunity to comment as the scheme progresses and Public Notice will be given prior to the experimental measures being introduced.
Kind Regards
The email said the closure, between the layby and the mountain snack bar, would aim to reduce traffic in the town to help reduce air pollution.
Cllr Whittle took to Facebook and posted a video outlining the plan and voicing his objection.
There was a huge outcry online and Caerphilly County Borough Council initially refused to rule out the closure in an online statement, claiming that no decision had been made.
This only added to the confusion after Caerphilly’s Labour Senedd Member, Hefin David, said he had spoken with council leader Philippa Marsden, who had ruled out the scheme.
He posted: “This should not have been proposed by highways officers in the first place and it has been stopped.
“If ever this silly, counterproductive idea rears its head again, we will oppose it.”
Today, following a meeting of the council’s cabinet, Cllr Marsden has issued a statement saying the scheme will not go-ahead, but questions remain over processes within the council which meant an officer could progress a major impact scheme without the knowledge of senior councillors.
She said: “I would like to assure local people that this scheme will not be going ahead. This was only ever a proposal that was in the early stages of consideration by the Highways team.
“No decision had been made to approve the scheme formally by the Cabinet or Senior Officers and residents can rest assured that there will be no further consideration of this matter.
“I fully recognise the real concerns about the impact such a scheme could have on the town centre and on the surrounding highway network. To be absolutely clear, I can confirm this proposal will not go ahead.”
Cllr Whittle was accused by Caerphilly County Borough Council of causing “unnecessary concern”.
Speaking to Caerphilly Observer he said: “This was money applied for from the Welsh Government and it was an experiment that was going to happen and we were to keep it quiet.”
He added: “The leadership of the council is appalling, it is absolutely appalling. I know that our [Plaid Cymru] group leader Colin Mann has asked can we start up the scrutiny meetings – nothing’s being scrutinised at all. This is what happens when things don’t get scrutinised.
“Allegedly Hefin David has said he’s spoken to the leader of the council and she has stopped this, but with respect she should have known what was going on.
“Anything of this scale would surely have been run past the cabinet and the leader? Whether it was or not I don’t know.
“Officers have always had that power. I do agree in giving officers some power, but this was clearly a step too far because it was a major decision.”
Caerphilly’s Senedd Member Hefin David said: “This idea was never going anywhere. It is very clear that it was an officer-generated idea. As soon as it was seen by the leader of the council, the proposal was binned.”
Morgan Jones ward councillor Jamie Pritchard said: “The leader of Council has acted to shelve any possibility of such a scheme coming to fruition. This is the right call and something that local residents will strongly welcome.”
A Caerphilly Council spokesman has confirmed the authority is looking into the issue to “better understand the process that was carried out”.
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