Council set to debate DP bypass campaign (From Penarth Times)

Council set to debate DP bypass campaign

PENARTH Town Council will tonight decide whether to back a call from Dinas Powys Community Council in their campaign to get the National Assembly for Wales to build a Dinas Powys bypass.

Val Hartrey, chair of Dinas Powys Community Council, said: "A Dinas Powys bypass has been under discussion for at least 30 years.

"Since the building of the Butetown tunnels and the increasing pressure of housing development in Barry and areas abutting Dinas Powys, the traffic travelling through the village has more than doubled.

"Now, all the routes to and from the village are being used for commuter and freight traffic travelling from Barry and the Vale and this is likely to increase further.

"Despite continued efforts to get this much-needed project realised, our councillors have consistently come up against refusal by the Welsh Office and now the Assembly to even consider a bid from the Vale of Glamorgan Council to build this road.

"Under pressure, the Vale Council has upgraded the need for an improved link between Cardiff and Barry to being equal to the need for an improved link to Cardiff International Airport," she added.

"We recognise that it is not only the residents of Dinas Powys who would like to see this road being built, but those from Barry and the rest of the Vale who are fed up with hold-ups and constant delays.

"Dinas Powys Community Council is asking all surrounding councils to add their weight to our campaign."

Dinas Powys Community Council plans to invite Andrew Davies, Minister for Economic Development and Transport, to a joint meeting this spring with the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the councils of Sully, Llandough, Michaelston-Le-Pit and Leckwith. The Vale Council's head of planning and transportation, Rob Thomas, said: "The funding of a new road link which bypasses Dinas Powys is viewed by the council as a real solution to the heavy usage of the A4055 through the village.

"The necessity for a Dinas Powys bypass remains a commitment of the council - but at present there is no opportunity for the authority to submit a bid to the Welsh Assembly Government for funds to design and construct what would be part of a Cardiff-to-Barry-Waterfront Link.

"The council will continue to urge the Assembly to accept its responsibilities to fund major transport infrastructure schemes such as the Dinas Powys bypass."