Claim city roundabout works will cause ‘serious difficulties’ as project funding questioned

Nicholas Thomas, Local democracy reporter

A proposed overhaul of a city centre roundabout could cause “serious difficulties” for drivers and harm businesses, an opposition councillor claims.

Newport City Council has also heard concerns about there being “no money” for the Old Green Roundabout project.

The Welsh Government said it had provided “significant funding” for development work and will liaise with councils on “final investment decisions”.

The Old Green project is part of wider work to improve regional transport, following the scrapping of the M4 relief road plan.

Layout

If the proposals go ahead, the current roundabout could be reconfigured into a traffic light-controlled junction – similar to a previous layout.

But Cllr David Fouweather said that risked sending the city centre back decades, to scenes of long traffic queues and paralysed roads.

He claimed residents were “mostly against these alterations” and urged the council leader, Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, to ensure feedback is “taken seriously” by decision-makers at the Transport for Wales (TfW)-led Burns Delivery Unit.

He also asked Cllr Batrouni to “stand up for Newport and tell TfW and the Welsh Government that the alterations to Old Green cannot take place” if city residents “overwhelmingly” opposed the project.

Cllr Fouweather, a Conservative, also sought clarity on how much the council, TfW and the Welsh Government had contributed financially to the project.

Concern

Cllr Batrouni said the council had “allocated no funds” for it, and accepted people in the city had “differing views” on changing Old Green.

He said change at the roundabout was needed, but “it has to be the right investment”.

“What I’m concerned about [is] it’s a circa £40 million investment,” he added. “I don’t want that money going elsewhere. If there are serious concerns and they are evidence-based, I would like them included in our counter-proposals – if there were any – to make sure that £40 million is still spent in Newport.

“Because if we say no in its entirety, without any way of saying ‘what about this’, we know what will happen to the money. It won’t be spent in Newport, it will just be sucked off somewhere else.”

Cllr Fouweather said any change “has to be done sensibly… so the motorists can get about”.

He also alleged the council should stand up for Newport or decision-makers “will just plough ahead anyway and do what they want regardless”.

But Cllr Batrouni suggested any final decision on the project was a long way off, given its financial situation.

“You made a comment about ploughing ahead,” the leader told Cllr Fouweather, adding: “First you need a plough and the money. To date, as I speak, there is no money from the Welsh Government to make this scheme go ahead anyway.”

Following the city council meeting, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The TfW Burns Delivery Unit has developed ambitious proposals to improve regional transport in the area, and we’ve provided significant funding for this development work to date and we will continue to provide them funding in 2025/26.

“We’ll work closely with local authorities when making final investment decisions.”

Meanwhile, a petition calling for “no change to the Old Green Roundabout” has collected more than 1,000 signatures.

Strength

Conservative Party campaigner Michael Enea, who is behind the campaign, said the petition “shows the strength of feeling among Newport residents”

He added: “The overall project is estimated to cost in the region of £40 million.

“It’s an obscene amount of money that could be much better spent on upgrading our city centre with new street paving, open green spaces, public toilets, sculptured kerbstones, new street furniture, better lampposts and lighting.”

Speaking previously in support of the project, TfW’s chief transport and development officer, Geoff Ogden, said: “These proposals have the potential to significantly improve travel in Newport by providing better links between rail and bus and better routes for walking, wheeling and cycling.”