Wales road-building plans have been 'simply unaffordable', according to deputy climate minister
The Welsh government's deputy climate minister has claimed its road-building plans have been "simply unaffordable".
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Lee Waters told members that the approach to road-building in Wales for the last 70 years "is not working".
Mr Waters made his statement as a "landmark report of international significance" was published looking at 55 road-building projects against a new criteria.
The deputy minister said the new criteria, which will have a focus on environmental factors, is "raising the bar".
The Welsh government "accepts its core principles and the new approach" set out in the report.
'Do things differently'
All new road-building projects were paused in June 2021 pending review.
The government in Wales has insisted that it's not the end of the road for new projects in the future, with the minister adding "we are building new roads as we speak".
Mr Waters said the Welsh government has "to be prepared to do things differently" in order to achieve a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
He also outlined the significant cost of the road-building projects initially produced, adding "we just do not have the money to do so".
In 2019, the Senedd became the first parliament in the world to vote to declare a climate emergency.
'Far from perfect'
Mr Waters insisted the report "says very clearly that schemes that create extra road capacity for cars should not be supported" and should instead focus on improving "public transport and active travel".
"We will not get to Net Zero unless we stop doing the same thing over and over. Where we can create an easier alternative to driving, let's do so," Mr Waters added.
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In response, the Welsh Conservatives' shadow transport minister, Natasha Asghar MS, said: "Only a handful have been spared the axe and will be going ahead as planned...when exactly do you expect the diggers to hit the ground?"
She said that the new criteria for road building would leave "businesses struggling to operate" and added: "To you, deputy minister, roads might be these awful structures of concrete, but to us, businesses, commuters and residents, they are a necessity."
Delyth Jewell MS, Plaid Cymru's spokesperson on climate change, transport and energy, said that the scheme is "a step in the right direction" but added that the "policy is far from perfect".
