Issue - meetings

To submit a joint report by the Head of Regulation and Economic Development and Head of Highways, Waste and Property.

It was resolved –

·      To endorse the report and its conclusion that Welsh Government should not view the Menai Crossing as a simple road project and adopt a positive policy position which recognises the critical need to improve the reliability and resilience of the Menai Straits.

To delegate authority to the Chief Executive or in his absence the Deputy Chief Executive to submit the Council’s evidence base to the North Wales Transport Commission ahead of the July 28^th  2023 deadline.

The report of the Head of Regulation and Economic Development incorporating the detailed evidence base and key findings of a report commissioned by the Council in relation to improving the reliability and resilience across the Menai Strait was presented for the Executive’s consideration. The detailed evidence base and key findings have been produced by Quod a specialist economics and planning consultancy on behalf of the Isle of Anglesey County Council to support the Council’s submission to the North Wales Transport Commission on the need for an improved multi-modal crossing of the Menai Strait.

The report was presented by Councillor Dafydd Rhys Thomas, Portfolio Member for Highways, Waste and Property. The North Wales Transport Commission (NWTC) established by Welsh Government acknowledges in a Progress Statement in January 2023 that North Wales is reliant on private vehicles and that a lack of attractive or realistic transport alternatives is contributing towards the dependency on private vehicles and limiting social, economic, and cultural connections. For Anglesey the position is worse with congestion and lack of resilience for the Menai crossings severely limiting and negatively impacting on social, economic, educational, health and cultural connections to and from the rest of the country. Further, it is hampering the Island’s ability to attract the business and economic activity it needs to reduce a cycle of job losses, lower on-Island employment and increasing reliance on off-Island jobs. Repair works to the Menai Bridge coupled with the occurrence of accidents on the Britannia Bridge have in recent months caused severe disruption. An unreliable road network could also affect Anglesey’s positioning as the optimal location for nuclear industry investment as well as the competitiveness of the Port of Holyhead recently designated a Freeport. There is a real risk that the Freeport cannot maximise its effectiveness because of the uncertainty and the lack of resilience of the transport network to and from the Island. The Welsh Government’s decision as recommended by the Roads Review Panel to cancel the proposed Third Menai crossing will exacerbate the challenges faced by the Island’s economy and hinder the successful implementation of key policies that seek to rebuild its employment base and reduce the need of its residents to leave the Island to work.

The NWTC released an interim report in June 2023 but is welcoming further evidence until 28 July 2023 before issuing its final recommendations. It is imperative that the Council inputs into and influences the outcome of the report.  To that end the Council commissioned Quod to prepare a detailed evidence base to support its submission to the NWTC on the need for an improved multi-modal crossing of the Menai Strait. The evidence base and key findings arising from it are included as Annexes A and B to the report respectively and they confirm the concerns around the lack of reliability of the road network and bridges and its wider impact and that it extends beyond simple efficiency savings on journey times. The outcome of the NWTC’s interim June report highlights several possible  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14