Don’t
get me wrong; I think that the news that the £50-million railway station in
Llanwern that has been unveiled as part of Plaid Cymru supported spending plans
recently unveiled by the Welsh Government is a very good thing. The
announcement has come as part of the draft Welsh budget for the 2018-2019
financial year yesterday, including Wales’ first taxes for 800 years. Among the
plans are to hand the Welsh NHS an extra £230 million next year and £220
million the year after; £10 million to tackle homelessness; and a proposal to
borrow £375 million over the next three years.
 |
The Llanwern Development |
What
we are not seeing, at least locally, is a very public commitment to starting
the work on the South East Wales Metro – something that is always viewed or at
least presented as whole rather than the sum of its parts. We need to see a lasting and public
commitment to the railway stations at Caerleon and Magor, as well as at
Llanwern. There has been a commitment in
successive UDP’s since 1986, but precious little has been done to actually get
on with it. Stations at Caerleon,
Llanwern and Magor (with safe, secure
and reasonably priced, if not free parking) would all help reduce road
congestion and bring real benefits to commuters and rail passengers. The time
for talking is over, its time to commit to breaking ground and getting on with it.
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