STANDING WITH OUR STEEL COMMUNITIES

Ahead of a crucial meeting of the board of Tata Steel to discuss the future of the company’s Port Talbot site, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said:

“This is a difficult day for those working in the steel industry as they wait to hear for a decision on the future of Port Talbot steelworks. Wales has a long tradition of steel production, and the industry could have a good future here with the right support from government.

“It is important is that Tata knows that the whole country is behind the workforce and that there is a great commitment to the steel industry and its workforce here, and I hope that the Welsh Government has communicated that to senior management at the company.

"We have a skilled and experienced steel workforce in Wales and I hope that the Welsh Government will be proactive as it fights for their future.”

Plaid Cymru South Wales West AM Bethan Jenkins said:

“The people of Port Talbot face a difficult wait for news today. Given the gravity of the decision being taken today, the Welsh Government should be proactive in seeking to protect the future of steel production in Wales.

That's why I cannot understand why the Labour Welsh Government has not sent a representative to Mumbai today to make the case for Welsh steel directly to the board. Neither is the Conservative Secretary of State for Wales present. This industry is too important to lose and I hope that both governments have made serious representations to the company.”

HELP WELSH STEEL WORKERS

Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards has accused the UK government of singularly failing to protect the Welsh steel industry from market volatility and called on the Government to implement measures such as an employer’s national insurance contribution break for West Wales and the Valleys to support against the impact of job losses. 

Following an urgent statement in the House of Commons, Jonathan Edwards MP said,

“Today’s announcement is a devastating blow to the workers and communities of Port Talbot, Llanwern and Llanelli. The steel industry supports thousands of workers across the region, with Tata Steel contributing around £3.2 billion annually to the Welsh economy.”

“The UK Government has singularly failed to protect the steel industry from the volatility of the markets, despite repeated warnings. Artificially cheap steel is being dumped every week from countries such as Russia and China, drowning the UK market and undercutting Welsh-produced steel.”  

“The dumping of Chinese steel is one of the biggest contributors to this crisis. But the UK Government has done little to help the flailing steel industry at home, choosing instead to promote China’s bid for market economy status which would further decimate our steel industry.”  

“Ensuring market fairness for our steel industry should be a top priority for the UK Government. It should be pursued with the same drive as we saw when the banks were bailed out in 2008.”

"The UK Government should also be pressing to implement measures such as an employer’s national insurance contribution break for West Wales and the Valleys. This area is one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in Western Europe and contains the steel plants at Trostre and Port Talbot. Measures such as this would support against the impact of these job losses and provide a boost for the area."

“Plaid Cymru has put forward constructive proposals to save the steel industry in Wales and called on the Welsh Government to urgently consider all options, including taking a temporary stake in Tata Steel to protect workers and guard this key industry, a backbone of the Welsh economy, against these challenging economic conditions.”           

“So far the Welsh First Minister has chosen to ignore these calls, including those made by his own party leader, choosing instead to treat Welsh steelworkers as pawns in a political blame game between the Welsh Government and Westminster.”

“Whilst the Tories and Labour refuse to step up to the plate, Plaid Cymru will press both the UK and Welsh Government to do all they can to protect the jobs of our steel workers.”

IT’S NEVER TO LATE TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION!

It would have been nice if the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff Bay had shown some common sense and ruled out its plan for a new M4 to the south of Newport (the so-called “Black Route”) on environmental and value for money. The Welsh Government should have chosen instead to invest in a high-quality upgrade of the existing A48 corridor; the so-called “Blue Route” which would come in at around £380 million pounds as opposed to the estimated £1 –£ 1.2 billion pounds cost of the “Black Route” – had this happened then the judicial review into the flawed decision would not be taking place.

The “Blue Route” provided a real cheaper innovative solution to the problem of the M4 and would have meant that more money would be available for transport investment across the rest of our country. We can keep our economy in the south moving by investing in the “Blue Route” proposals around Newport. This would be a significant boost to the economy around the city, and would have provided traffic with an alternative route for those times when the M4 becomes too congested.

Both the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors supported this proposal and it would certainly be a much quicker and more decisive way of dealing with the congestion than building a new M4 (which would not open until 2031). The choice of the ‘Blue Route’ would have delivered a high-quality proposal, which would have boosted Newport’s infrastructure at a much lower cost and potentially could be completed by 2018. 

Now I have long believed that when spending public money, it is essential that it is worked exceptionally hard, with every single pound’s impact being maximized. The proposed M4 Relief Road (the “Black Route”) remains poor value for public money as there are easier and cheaper more deliverable alternatives (‘The Blue Route’) to the proposed M4 Relief road. We have long needed to upgrade the A48, SDR and the Queensway across the Llanwern site and we badly need more investment in our railways including electrification of the valley lines and the proposed metro light rail system (less the guided bus way elements).

The “Blue Route” could solve the congestion issue on the M4 by 2018 and provide more than adequate relief of traffic congestion over the period to 2035. The UK Government’s forecasts have shown a 20 per cent growth in traffic flow between 2012 and 2030, the Blue Route would satisfy capacity requirements to 2025. Incidentally the forecast for projected traffic growth in the Welsh Government’s consultation document has already been shown to be in excess of actual flows for 2012 and 2013.

Another real and lasting benefit from choosing the “Blue Route” is that it would protect the highly sensitive environmental sites on the Gwent Levels. While it’s hard to put a financial cost on saving the Gwent Levels, the Blue Route option would save almost £620 million pounds, which could then be reinvested in projects elsewhere in Wales. Even now it is not too late for the Labour in Wales Government to change its mind and take an opportunity to reconsider its plans to borrow and the resultant commitment to spending £1 - £1.2 billion pounds + on a 14 kilometre stretch of motorway – something which just does not add up.

BLACK AND BLUE...

It’s time for the Labour in Wales Government to show some common sense and rule out its plan for a new M4 to the south of Newport (the so-called “Black Route”) on value for money and environmental grounds. Instead the Welsh Government should choose instead to invest in a high-quality upgrade to the existing A48 corridor; the so-called “Blue Route” which would come in at around £380 million pounds as opposed to the estimated £1 –£ 1.2 billion pounds cost of the “Black Route”.

The “Blue Route” can provide an innovative solution to the problem of the M4 and should mean that more money would be available for transport investment across the rest of our country. We can keep our economy in the south moving by investing in the “Blue Route” proposals around Newport. This would be a significant boost to the economy around the city, and would provide traffic with an alternative route when the M4 becomes too congested.

Both the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors support this proposal and it is a much quicker and more decisive way of dealing with the congestion than building a new M4 (which would not open until 2031). The choice of the ‘Blue Route’ would deliver a high-quality proposal which would boost Newport’s infrastructure at a much lower cost potentially could be completed by 2018. 

Now I have long believed that when spending public money, it is essential that it is worked exceptionally hard, with every single pound’s impact being maximized. The proposed M4 Relief Road (the “Black Route”) is poor value for public money as there are easier and cheaper more deliverable alternatives (‘The Blue Route’) to the proposed M4 Relief road. We need to upgrade the A48, SDR and the Queensway across the Llanwern site and we need more investment in our railways (including electrification of the valley lines and the proposed metro light rail system).

The “Blue Route” could solve the congestion issue on the M4 by 2018 and provide more than adequate relief of traffic congestion over the period to 2035. The UK Government’s forecasts showing a 20 per cent growth in traffic flow between 2012 and 2030, the Blue Route would satisfy capacity requirements to 2025. Incidentally the forecast for growth in the Welsh Government’s consultation document has already been shown to be in excess of actual flows for 2012 and 2013.

Another benefit from choosing the “Blue Route” is that it would also protect the sensitive environmental sites on the Gwent Levels. While it’s hard to put a financial cost on saving the Gwent Levels, the Blue Route option would save almost £620 million pounds which could then be reinvested in projects elsewhere in Wales. This would give the Labour in Wales Government an opportunity to reconsider its plans to borrow and the resultant commitment to spending £1 - £1.2 billion pounds + on a 14 kilometre stretch of motorway. 

FOR ‘NOT YET’ READ ‘NEVER’.

We live in a strange country where the First Minister is reluctant to take up the challenge of new borrowing powers and a degree of control of how some of the taxes we pay is spent. Perhaps for ‘Not Yet’ read ‘Never’. At the same time the Con Dem coalition Westminster government is pushing for all it’s worth the questionable economic and financial benefits of the proposed M4 Relief Road around Newport whilst simultaneously attempting to set by remote control the future economic priorities of the Welsh government for the next 20 years.

I have always believed that when it comes to spending public money, it is essential that it is worked exceptionally hard, with every single pound’s impact being maximized. The proposed M4 Relief Road is poor value for public money. There are easier and cheaper more deliverable alternatives to the proposed M4 Relief road in the shape of upgrading the A48, SDR and the Queensway across the Llanwern site and more investment in our railways (including the proposed metro light rail system amongst other things).

Behind all the spin and the waffle there are two key issues at stake which are directly related to the proposed M4 Relief Road. Firstly, we have a London based Westminster government attempting to remotely set the economic priorities for the Welsh Government and secondly, Westminster is attempting to predetermine a particularly questionably beneficial infrastructure project that could end up being paid for by the people of Wales for the next 20 years.

Potentially well over a billion pounds may be required to pay for the proposed M4 project, it has been estimated that the real cost may be closer to some £1.2 billion pounds. This project runs the risk of imposing some serious and unnecessary strains on Welsh finances and there are better projects with greater value for money and more measurable returns upon which any borrowed capital could and should be spent.

The Westminster government’s attempt to link borrowing powers and tax raising powers with the proposed M4 Relief Road is entirely unacceptable. The London-based Westminster government has no right to predetermine what the priorities, economic or otherwise of a Welsh Government should be any more than the EU does. Can you imagine the reaction if the EU attempted to tell a Westminster government what it’s economic and infrastructure priorities would be for the next decade, we would never ever hear the end of it, but, when it comes to our country that’s OK? I don’t think so… 

MAKING PLANS

The regional transport consortium Sewta, the South East Wales Transport Alliance, has launched a consultation on how it thinks services should be improved in the region up to 2030. New services are proposed for the Ebbw Valley line and new stations in south Gwent at Caerleon, St Mellons, Coedkernew and Llanwern, along with additional rail services across the south east. Proposals for the Ebbw Vale line include  extensions from Ebbw Vale Parkway to Ebbw Vale Town, from Llanhilleth to Abertillery and from the Ebbw Vale line to Newport as well as new stations at Crumlin and Pye Corner in Newport.

Under the SEWTA proposals additional services would also call at Severn Tunnel Junction along with new services being proposed on the Abergavenny and Chepstow line, and services between Caerphilly, Machen and Newport. A suggestion has also been made to electrify the Abergavenny to Shrewsbury and Chepstow to Gloucester lines. The plans also include the extension of the railway to Ebbw Vale Town and plans to build a new station at Pye Corner which has already have Welsh Government backing.

The capital costs are estimated for the schemes within the programme average £19.5m per annum. Revenue costs would increase over the initial ten years of the strategy to between £13m and £15m per year. Thereafter, increasing revenues would offset additional costs. The majority of that benefit occurs in 2020, when electrification will reduce operating costs. Sewta is a consortium made up of local authorities in the south east including all five Gwent councils, so the projects would need funding from other sources and evidence of support is being sought for the concept of a South East Wales Metro.

The closing date for comments is September 30^th 2013

For more information visit www.sewta.gov.uk 

The full report is available at: http://www.sewta.gov.uk/other-documents/sewta-rail-strategy/

THE CASE FOR FORWARD THINKING?

I welcome the news that funding has been secured for new railway station at Pye Corner, on the line between Cardiff and Ebbw Vale after the UK government awarded the scheme some £ 2.5 million pounds. The new station which will include a a single platform and a car park with 70 spaces should be up and running by the end of 2014, in time for the Ebbw Vale line's planned electrification. This follows last week’s announcement that £ 11.5 million pounds worth of funding has been earmarked for the new Ebbw Vale Town rail station. The Ebbw Vale Town station will also be a single platform at the Works, on the redeveloped steelworks site. The Ebbw Vale line has been re-opened since 2008 and is among the south Wales valleys and commuter lines to be electrified sometime between 2014 and 2019 as part of a £350m investment.

A simple question - single track?

Putting to one side the as yet restored rail link into Newport (not to mention the need for new stations at Caerleon, Llanwern and Magor) for the moment, this is good, if belated news. I continue to question the decision to build single platform railway stations (save where the track is doubled from Crosskeys to Risca). This decision has and continues to directly impact on the frequency of the rail services that can be run, without double platforms and passing loops at all of the station on the line, we are talking about a relatively reduced up and down rail service.  If I was being generous I might suggest that it might be case of Network Rail and the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff bay thinking along the lines of ‘Give them that [limited service], they will be grateful as something is better than nothing’.

Or double track?

At some point I have little doubt that we (the tax payers) will have to fork out the cash to build double platforms and passing loops along the length of the Ebbw Vale line if only to upgrade the infrastructure and ensure a far more regular service. I find this basic lack of common sense and even basic foresight quite disturbing, if would have been far more sensible to restore the whole line to double track working from the start. That said, the new stations at Pye Corner and in Ebbw Vale are a gain, but, why not build them with double platforms  - it will save us all time and money later.

THIS LAND IS NOT FOR SALE

When it comes to Housing Policy (and Planning Policy) in Wales its bad news for local residents, whether they are in those residents of Newport or Torfaen (who have been fighting the plan) or the concerned residents of Carmarthen who are worried about the impact of over large housing developments or the concerned residents of Holyhead who are opposed to new marina development. In Wales we have over the years been ill-served by the planning system, by nominally Local Development Plans and by our local authorities and by our own Government in Cardiff. Well on Saturday....

GETTING BACK ON TRACK?

One way the Government in Cardiff could seriously reduce traffic on the M4 and on local roads in and around on Newport and across South Monmouthshire would be by supporting calls for new railway stations at Llanwern (it’s worth remembering that Newport Unlimited proposed a 1,000 space ‘park and ride’ facility for the proposed new station), Magor and Caerleon. These new stations  along with extra parking at Chepstow and extra parking (not to mention a road link to M48) at Severn Tunnel Junction would give hard pressed commuters something like a real choice when it comes to getting to and from work.  Ongoing and successful campaigns at Severn Tunnel and Chepstow have shown that people value their rail services and that the simple provision of better facilities and more stopping services can make a real difference.  New stations at Caerleon, Llanwern and at Magor would prove to be a less costly option and less environmentally damaging and more sustainable option and could help to cut congestion on already overused local roads.

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL...

The study commissioned by SEWTA (South East Wales Transport Alliance) amongst other things has recommended that extra trains should run (every two hours) on the line from Newport to Abergavenny, not to mention that Pontypool and New Inn station be developed (with park and ride facilities) accessed from the A4042. This along with the proposed (and much needed) new station at Caerleon and better car parking and bus links at Abergavenny and Cwmbran should be warmly welcomed.

The SEWTA Regional Transport Plan was approved by the Minister for Economy and Transport in January 2010 and following submission of a capital programme for 2010/11 implementation began in April 2010. SEWTA has produced proposals for the development of stations at Crumlin and Pye Corner stations (which would include bus stops and bike parking). The study of the Abergavenny line suggests that proposed improvements may result in an extra 168,000 new rail trips, something that will reduce car use, cut congestion and pollution.

The recent report builds on previous work, back in March 2010, SEWTA recommended on the line from Abergavenny via Newport to Cardiff, SEWTA has already proposed a new stations at St Mellons, and called for more frequent stopping services at Pontypool and New Inn. On the line from Chepstow via Newport to Cardiff, SEWTA has proposed new stations at Llanwern and Coedkernew, and an improved and more frequent services at Chepstow, Caldicot and Severn Tunnel Junction.

The SEWTA reports are well researched and well structured, and should have made a significant contribution to the debate, now is the time for action. Let's get it done...

WELSH GREEN BELT?

There is a need for a Welsh equivalent to Green belt, to fringe our urban areas, to help focus out of town and fringe of town developments, not to mention helping to protect rural green spaces between and within some of our urban areas. It's worth noting that 'Green belt' is a useful planning tool, which was introduced for London in 1938 but then ended up being rolled out to England as a whole by a government circular in 1955. The original idea was that the opportunity to develop green belt which would allow local councils to designate green belts when they wanted to restrict urban growth.

Now this idea worked and worked well, as of 2007, Green belt covered something like 13% of England (around one-and-a-half million hectares) which despite the best efforts of previous Conservative and New Labour Governments it is still relatively well protected both by normal planning controls and against "inappropriate development" within its boundaries. Wales only has one notional green belt, and that lies between Cardiff and Newport, Scotland has seven and Northern Ireland has 30 - each has its own policy guidance. it is important to note that once the Green belt or Green wedge is gone it is gone for ever, we cannot restore it.

In the south east, along the coastal belt around Newport and in and around Torfaen, the last twenty years has seen a significant if not spectacular growth in the amount of housing, a significant percentage of which was never aimed to fulfil local housing needs. As a result the infrastructure along the coastal belt between Chepstow, Caldicot, Rogiet and Magor is struggling to cope with existing developments and this is well before the projected expansion of housing on and around the former Llanwern site. The north of Newport has now been linked effectively to the south Cwmbran - something that has brought little material benefit to either urban area.

In Torfaen, there are on going plans to literally fill in the gap between Pontnewydd and Sebastopol - this development was vigorously (and rightly in my opinion) opposed in the 1990's by the "Fight the Plan" campaign group . The original development proposals, aim to include 1,200 new homes, shops, playing
fields, and a school, and a community centre, these were effectively rubber stamped by Torfaen council (in 2005), but developers were unable complete a legal agreement in time so it never took place.

However, these things never quite go away and now there is a new development consortium (which now includes the Welsh Development Agency, Crest Strategic Projects Ltd and Barratt South Wales) which has decided to revisit the old development plans, with a view to submitting them in the spring. So much for sustainability, while it would be too much, on past experience to expect Torfaen County Council to do anything other than rubber stamp the proposals, they have been hell bent on maximising as much housing development as possible over recent years. One question we need to ask about many of these proposed housing developments is just exactly for what pressing need do they fill locally, or are we merely engaged in attempting to grow housing for its own stake or to maximise construction company profit?

The National Assembly should know better and act accordingly, the institution is supposed to have sustainability enshrined in its actions, but, at times you really have to wonder, especially when it comes to the impact of some of the proposed developments on our communities. We need to protect the green wedges around and within our urban communities. The problem caused by a lack of protection to our Green wedges, etc is aggravated by the fact that what one generation of elected officials (and council officers) envisages as a green wedge, green lane, etc is often seen by later generations of elected officials (and council officers) as either prime land for development or a nice little earner to help balance out the books - this means that there is a lack of stability and a long term vision for many of our urban areas.

We need to take the long view and create Welsh Green belt land with the legal and planning protections then, we might go some way to calming things down when it comes to development planning and also manage to introduce a more long term element into the process by which our elected officials (and council officers) plan and view development and redevelopment within and around our urban and not so urban communities. This is something that could be accomplished by creating Welsh Green belt land, as part of the process we also need an urgent and open debate into the planning process in Wales - something that has been long overdue.

TIME FOR WELSH GREEN BELT?

There is a need for a Welsh equivalent to Green belt, to fringe our urban areas, to help focus out of town and fringe of town developments, not to mention helping to protect rural green spaces between and within some of our urban areas. It's worth noting that 'Green belt' is a useful planning tool, which was introduced for London in 1938 but then ended up being rolled out to England as a whole by a government circular in 1955. The original idea was that the opportunity to develop green belt which would allow local councils to designate green belts when they wanted to restrict urban growth.

The idea worked and worked well, as of 2007, Green belt covered something like 13% of England (around one-and-a-half million hectares) which despite the best efforts of previous Conservative and New Labour Governments it is still relatively well protected both by normal planning controls and against "inappropriate development" within its boundaries. Wales only has one green belt, and that lies between Cardiff and Newport, Scotland has seven and Northern Ireland has 30 - each has its own policy guidance.

In the south east, along the coastal belt and in and around Torfaen, the last twenty years has seen a significant if not spectacular growth in the amount of housing, a significant percentage of which was never aimed to fulfil local housing needs. As a result the infrastructure along the coastal belt between Chepstow, Caldicot, Rogiet and Magor is struggling to cope with existing developments and this is well before the projected expansion of housing on and around the former Llanwern site. The north of Newport has now been linked effectively to the south Cwmbran - something that has brought little material benefit to either urban area.

In Torfaen, there are on going plans to literally fill in the gap between Pontnewydd and Sebastopol - this development was vigorously (and rightly in my opinion) opposed in the 1990's by the "Fight the Plan" campaign group . The original development proposals, aim to include 1,200 new homes, shops, playing fields, and a school, and a community centre, these were effectively rubber stamped by Torfaen council (in 2005), but developers were unable complete a legal agreement in time so it never took place.

However, these things never quite go away and now there is a new development consortium (which now includes the Welsh Development Agency, Crest Strategic Projects Ltd and Barratt South Wales) which has decided to revisit the old development plans, with a view to submitting them this autumn. So much for sustainability, while it would be too much, on past experience to expect Torfaen County Council to do anything other than rubber stamp the proposals, they have been hell bent on maximising as much housing development as possible over recent years.

The National Assembly should know better and act accordingly, the institution is supposed to have sustainability enshrined in its actions, but, at times you really have to wonder, especially when it comes to the impact of some of the proposed developments on our communities. We need to protect the green wedges around and within our urban communities. The problem caused by a lack of protection to our Green wedges, etc is aggravated by the fact that what one generation of elected officials (and council officers) envisages as a green wedge, green lane, etc is often seen by later generations of elected officials (and council officers) as either prime land for development or a nice little earner to help balance out the books - this means that there is a lack of stability and a long term vision for many of our urban areas.

If the National Assembly was to take the long view and create Welsh Green belt land with the legal and planning protections then, we might go some way to calming things down when it comes to development planning and also manage to introduce a more long term element into the process by which our elected officials (and council officers) plan and view development and redevelopment within and around our urban and not so urban communities. This is something that could be accomplished by creating Welsh Green belt land, as part of the process we also need an urgent and open debate into the planning process in Wales - something that has been long overdue.