Welsh Government announces funding to repair storm damaged road in Wrexham

Liam Randall, local democracy reporter

Funding worth £2.8 million has been confirmed to repair a road in Wrexham which was severely damaged by a landslide more than a year ago.

The B5605 in Newbridge has been closed since January 2021, when heavy downpours during Storm Christoph caused part of it to collapse down an embankment.

It has led to a long period of frustration for residents living nearby, who have been forced to take lengthy diversions to get to work or take their children to school.

However, the Welsh Government has today (Wednesday, May 11) announced it will be providing a significant sum of money to Wrexham Council to pay for the repairs.

Devastating consequences

Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters, who is also responsible for transport, said: “Storm Christoph had devastating consequences for communities when it hit Wales last year, causing major disruption to our infrastructure and roads.

“Throughout the long recovery process we have been working very closely with all local authorities and I am pleased that we have been able to provide vital funding for Wrexham Council to make the necessary repairs to this road through our resilient roads fund.

“We continue to work hard to build resilience in our travel networks and wider infrastructure as we plan ahead for climate change.”

The road serves as a busy route for local people and also acts as a diversion for the A483 bypass.

Due to the severity of the damage caused last year, a series of surveys were carried out by the local authority to establish the extent of the repairs needed.

It’s expected work to fix the road will begin later this year following the funding announcement.

Ian Bancroft, chief executive of Wrexham Council, said: “Repairing this road will make a massive difference to people in Newbridge, Cefn Mawr and Rhosymedre – as well as surrounding communities like Plas Madoc, Ruabon and Chirk.

“It’s not a straight-forward road-repair – the damage is substantial and we’ve had to undertake a lot of in-depth geo-technical assessments and cost analysis.

“But we’re delighted we’ve been able to secure this funding, and look forward to reopening this key piece of infrastructure.”

The Welsh Government added it was conducting a nationwide roads review in light of climate change and the increase in extreme weather events.

It said the aim was to balance spending between constructing new roads, and adapting and maintaining existing ones.