Town’s congestion blamed on nightmare roundabout after years of inaction

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

A busy town’s seemingly constant congestion has been blamed on a failure to address a nightmare roundabout.

Traffic in, out and around Chepstow has been described as a daily blight on life in the town that sits on the border with England and has been home to the Severn Bridge since 1966.

Sitting just 18 miles from Bristol city centre, and 32 miles from the centre of Cardiff, the town should offer easy access to two large economic engines as well as Newport and Gloucester but traffic jams and delays are a constant complaint for residents.

The Chepstow Transport Group has been pressing for action on the Highbeech roundabout on the town’s western approach that is part of the trunk road network the Welsh Government is responsible for.

“The majority of problem traffic, from our point of view, is from the chokepoint on the Highbeech roundabout. We have proposed several solutions to the Senedd to which they just keep sending more and more consultant’s reports and studies and nothing has happened in 10 years,” said its chair Tim Melville.

Government bureaucracy “appears” to be to blame and while the latest government commissioned report is due this spring, which could provide a timescale for potential work, Mr Melville said “there’s a complete lack of urgency”.

As an active citizen Mr Melville conducted a hustings, allowing residents to hear from candidates in the 2024 general election, at St Mary’s Church and is considering a similar event ahead of the May 7 poll, which would likely feature much debate on the road network.

“I think traffic is at the forefront of my mind and many other residents in Chepstow and I know that for a fact,” said Mr Melville.

While the Welsh Government has yet to resolve issues around the Highbeech Roundabout it is just one of many transport infrastructure problems.

The Severn Bridge, while no longer the primary crossing since the second bridge opened in 1996, is managed by the UK Government’s National Highways and still carries some 30,000 vehicles a day but has been closed to lorries weighing more than 7.5 tonnes for a year, with only a partial solution expected to be implemented in the autumn.

In a further blow the 210-year-old Wye Bridge, which is the responsibility of local councils, has been closed to traffic since October and pedestrians since the end of March when further cracks in its cast iron structures were discovered.

Debate has also raged over proposals for a by-pass, that would link the Bulwark with Sedbury on the opposit bank of the Wye which is supported by Chepstow’s two Conservative county councillors and those representing outlying areas. The town has four Laboour councillors and they back a new bridge, upstream at Sharpness, which would be entirely in Gloucestershire.

Labour, which leads the county council, has also come under fire over plans that could allow for development, including new housing, beside the Highbeech roundabout though it says its approach also supports new walking and cycling routes into the town centre.

Mr Melville, whose group two years ago printed QR codes with a link to bus timetables out of frustration at Monmouthshire council’s failure to publish them, said the group also wants to see more walking to school encouraged to address congestion as well as lift sharing.

He said: “We also need to take more of our own responsibility, more active travel and public transport can help. We don’t want to come across as pushing for more and more cars, we need a more balanced approach.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked candidates from some of the main political parties contesting the Sir Fynwy Torfaen constituency how, if elected as a Member of Senedd for the town, they would address its congestion problem.

Labour’s Lynne Neagle said: “To take congestion off our roads, we’ll cap all adult bus fares at £2 and roll out more than 100 new bus routes across Wales. We’ll also deliver new train stations including in Newport East, Somerton and Magor and Undy.”

Conservative Richard John said: “The Conservatives are the only party to have championed a Chepstow bypass and improvements to the Highbeech roundabout to ease congestion and ensure that Chepstow is a more attractive place to visit to support shops and businesses.”

Plaid Cymru’s Matthew Jones said: “I’ll look to immediately improve the Highbeech and M48 roundabouts, quickly reopen the Old Wye Bridge, improve access at the railway station, create safer routes for cyclists and pedestrians and get better, more affordable buses.”

Green Party candidate Ian Chandler said: “I’ll cut traffic by improving bus, rail and active travel options, and ease the bottleneck at the Highbeech roundabout. These are quicker, cheaper and more sustainable than a by-pass.”