BURYING BAD NEWS

If the Welsh Labour Government in Cymru / Wales was looking for a good day to bury bad news for the people of Newport then perhaps Wednesday 28th August was probably a good day. 

I mention this because back in April 2017, a list of 12 potential new and revived railway station sites was made public which would go a long way towards adding connectively to various parts of our country’s poor railway network and potentially reducing road congestion. 

On the 28th August 2019, it was revealed that the original list of 12 has now become  4  - when another list of 4 was published. Now this is not a definitive list, and there are no guarantees that  these 4 prospective railway stations will eventually be built or re-opened as they have to go on for yet further assessment in Westminster. 

The lucky 4 prospective railway stations are: 

• Ely Mill/Victoria Park in Cardiff
• St Clears in Carmarthenshire
• Deeside Industrial Park/Northern Gateway
• Carno in Powys

The railway stations which did not made it through the assessment are:

• Llanwern
• Newport Road/Rover Way
• St Mellons
• Cockett
• Landore
• North Wrexham
• South Wrexham
• Llangefni

It is important to remember that control of our railway infrastructure investment is not devolved to Cymru / Wales - a decision largely made by the then Labour Government in Westminster.  it still remains with the UK Westminster Government, all the Welsh Labour Government does is draw up a short list of suggestions.

All potential stations go through three stages of assessment.

• The first looks at Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance criteria and consideration of the Wellbeing and Future Generations Act.
• The second looks at the strength of the financial and economic case for a new station and advice from Network Rail on deliverability.
  
  
• The third is "development and assessment of the highest priorities".

To help narrow the list down, station demand forecasts were drawn up which are designed to give a likely viability of proposed stations. This may actually sound a more scientific and rational process than it is. It is worth remembering that the anticipated number of passengers who were expected to travel on the reopened Ebbw Vale line to Cardiff in 12 months travelled on the new service in the first 4 months. 

A word of warning - please don’t hold your breath in anticipation of any regular train service from Ebbw Vale to Newport - we may yet have along wait. The 7,000 + householders who will end up living on the Llanwern site will have no option but to use their cars or the bus service to get to and from work. Not pushing for a railway station at Llanwern will directly impact on the congestion in an around Newport, on the SDR and the existing M4. 

Any proposal will only be successful with "a sound business case" and the assessment "increases the ability of station proposals to be in a position to benefit from funding calls" - and that decision will be made in Westminster rather than here in Cymru / Wales. A Welsh Government spokesman said: "The stations that scored the highest in the assessment will now be taken forward. The proposals for the remaining stations will be considered when additional resources become available."

It is also worth noting that the process is ongoing and there is no date for any potential reopening of any station. Considering that for the last 3 years Westminster has been tearing itself apart over BREXIT it would be a safe bet that it may be a while before any Westminster government focuses on Cymru / Wales and our national interests. Decisions about railway infrastructure development need to be made here in Cymru / Wales, not in Westminster.

BROKEN PROMISES?

Plaid Cymru’s Treasury Spokesperson, Jonathan Edwards MP, has raised serious concerns over indications that the Westminster Government could renege on its promise to allow the Welsh Government to borrow money to invest in infrastructure.

In an answer to a written parliamentary question by Mr Edwards, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss said “in light of [the Welsh Government’s] decision” not to go ahead with the M4 relief road, an increase in the borrowing cap will be reviewed.

Increasing the amount of money the Welsh Government can borrow requires the approval of the Westminster Government. Such an uplift in the Welsh Government’s capital borrowing allowances (the amount it can borrow to spend on physical assets such as roads or buildings) was announced in the Westminster Government’s 2018 Budget. At the time concerns were raised over indications that the Westminster Government would make devolution of extra borrowing powers contingent on the development of a specific M4 relief road route.

On 4 June this year, the Welsh Government announced that it would not build any M4 relief road. The concerns raised at the time of the announcement of the cap increase look to be realised, as the Westminster Government is now considering pulling back on the uplift of £300million.

A core principle of devolution is that the money granted to the devolved administration is a matter for the devolved areas over which it governs and the democratically elected National Assembly which oversees it. Linking increases in borrowing capacity to a preferred policy of the Westminster government runs contrary to this principle, particularly considering the project in question – the M4 relief road – sits within the devolved field of transport.

Jonathan Edwards MP said:

“It is outrageous that the Westminster Government is pulling back on its promise to allow the Welsh Government to borrow to invest in infrastructure. Devolution has been in place for over twenty years, but Westminster is still trying to use dirty tricks to undermine it.

“The M4 relief road, was highly environmentally damaging and has been rejected. Westminster cannot dictate what the devolved Government and Assembly should back, simply because they don’t like it.  

“Welsh transport infrastructure is crying out for investment and I am extremely disappointed in the record of the Labour Welsh Government on the issue. The fact that they did not have a plan for alternative investment plans in greener, cleaner options when they cancelled the development of the M4 relief road speaks volumes about their ambition. However, this does not mean that Westminster has any right to undermine the democratic structures of devolution.

“The very principle of devolution is being questioned by the Westminster Government. If they do as they are threatening and renege on their commitments, they will be undermining the fragile constitutional compromise that underpins the relationship between Wales and Westminster.”

ENDS

Notes

• M4: Wales: Written questions
• 259943 – https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-06-04/259944/
• 259944 – https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-06-04/259943/
• ITV – Row over proposed Welsh Government multi-million pound borrowing powers – https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2018-10-30/wales-budget-borrowing-powers-m4-cairns-drakeford/

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The First Minister made the right choice about the M4 Relief road. Personally I have been opposed to the project since the 1990's. It's been dropped more times over the years than a questionable county striker. Whats important now - is what happens next to alleviate the traffic problems that regularly clog up our city - the M4 Relief road would have done little to resolve them - despite the promises. If we are serious about giving people a realistic alternative to the car in and around Newport (and elsewhere) then we need decent integrated reliable public transport - without that nothing is going to change. 

What happens next is now of real significance - there are some small significant and long overdue projects - which would be big wins by way of infrastructure in Newport which should have been completed decades ago. A prime example is that of the proposed re-opening of the railway station at Caerleon - this has been in the structure plan since 1986 - but nothing has been done. Not to mention railway stations at Llanwern and Magor - approved in principle but with no ground broken as the years continue to pass. There are sone relatively simple potentially significant easy wins - which could have a big impact on the congestion problem in and around Newport and on the coastal plain. We need railway stations, with decent facilities and significant park and ride (with sensible walk to routes) at: 

• Caerleon / Ponthir , 
• Magor, and 
• Llanwern 

Across the south east, we can start with the Ebbw vale link to Newport needs to be re-timetabled and the line extended to Aberbeeg (as originally promised). Trains already periodically run on this line into Newport - when maintenance is under taken elsewhere. This reinstated service would enable connecting services to be run into Newport - giving commuters to Bristol and further afield an alternative means of getting to and from their places of work. 

The link to Ebbw Vale...

Within Newport there is a need to develop a decent system of public transport - based around a light rail / tram network which connects Bettws / Malpas, Duffryn and Pill and Alway / Ringland with the city centre and the railway station(s). At present the residents of Bettws, Pill, Duffryn and Alway / Ringland have no alternative but to drive, use the much reduced bus service or walk. Trams are not a pipe dream they are already an important part of integrated public transport systems in Merton (in south west London), Sheffield, Manchester and elsewhere. They would work equally well in Newport, Cardiff and Swansea and feed people into our main line railway stations. 

Elsewhere in the former county of Gwent there is much work that needs to be done. Our railway stations at Abergavenny, Pontypwl and Cwmbran, Caldicot , Severn Tunnel and Chepstow have all seen some degree of improvement but are barely fit for service. All these stations need improvement and need more stopping services and better facilities hand in hand with the development of secure reasonably priced park and ride facilities. There should be a feasibility study into reopening the branch line to Usk (with a station sited West of the River Usk (with decent park and ride facilities). Along with this there is a case for a park and ride railway station at Little Mill (especially with the proposed hoisting development at Mamihiiad). With all of this we need integrated ticketing - with one ticket coverage all modes of transport - it either well elsewhere in these islands - so why not here? 

The National Assembly also needs to work systematically and over the long term to get long distance freight traffic off our roads and back onto our railways. If you are shipping a container from Neath or Newport to Nuneaton or Namur it needs to be on a train not trundling around the motorway network. Successive Scottish government have had done success with encouraging and incentivising the movement of freight from road back to rail. Hand in hand with this initiative there is a real need to fundamentally change the delivery cycle from last minute to more planned delivery cycle. 

We need workable medium term solutions that will fundamentally impact on our options for moving about our city, the SE and the rest of Wales. What we don't need now is inaction, we gave had plenty of that, combined with poor if not down right bad decision making on the part if government at all levels, be it Westminster, National Assembly and local level - the consequences of which we are all living with every day in the south east and across the rest of Cymru / Wales. The tine for excuses us past - what's needed now is action on the ground to begin to sort out our congestion problems and to provide us with decent integrated transport that's fit for the 21st century rather the 20th. 

PRIDE IN NEWPORT

I’m Jonathan Clark and I am standing for Plaid Cymru in the forthcoming by-election. I am from Newport, my family is from Newport and I have had enough of seeing our city declining every year. More shops shut, more homelessness, more problems with traffic, more anti social behaviour.

On the stump - neither rain, nor hail, nor sleet...

I’m proud of my home town - our Newport - and I want see it back on its feet. I want to see more investment in job creation, a coherent and integrated public transport system to improve access to and around out city, and a better business rate relief scheme to help grow our small businesses. 

The Labour Party has run Newport for decades and by any reckoning have failed. The Tories have taken incompetence to a new level with their infighting over Brexit. 

So, if you want to fix Newport then join our campaign. We need a real opposition in our city. Plaid Cymru, and together we can be that opposition. But we can only do it if we do it together. 

Click here to sign up and join our campaign.

AND THEN YOU PAY FOR IT!

The proposed M4 relief road across the Gwent Levels is one of those questionable proposed projects that will devour public money with no tangible medium to longer term benefit. Projected costs have risen from some £900 million to £1.2 billion pounds - having personally listened to enough civil engineers - we can probably expect at least another 20% on top. 

There may well be a link between the rising costs, when it comes to the completion of public sector infrastructure projects and the cost relationship between the construction companies and the corridors of power in Westminster and Whitehall. The inability of public sector infrastructure projects to be completed on-time and on budget should be a concern for all of us - if for nothing else than the fact that it's our money that's being simultaneously both spent and raked up.  

Are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes? 

The Westminster government has (somewhat reluctantly in my opinion) actually devolved a degree of borrowing powers to the Welsh Government with a less than subtle heavy hint that they should be used to finance this expensive road project. This was backed up in the last Westminster budget with a stronger suggestion/ hint that any extra monies received from Westminster should be used to fund the M4 Relief Road. So much for Westminster having a grasp of the concept of devolution! 

Using the borrowing powers to finance this questionable road project would effectively tie the hands of future Welsh governments for some years into the future. We would be better off if the monies (£2 billion pounds could accomplish a great deal)were spent in the construction of a properly thought out South Wales metro which would provide realistic realistic reasonably priced alternatives for people trying to get to and from work. 

The construction of the Black route is a non starter, its lazy complacent short term thinking, it with the addition of potentially 6 million additional vehicle invents on and around the M4 will not deliver any benefits beyond the immediate short term (if even that). It's environmental destructive to both people and the rich human constructed environment that are the unique Gwent Levels. And it also just happens to strengthen those questionable links between Westminster and Whitehall and the large construction companies.

Historically the original M4 was intended to be built to the North of Caerleon / Lodge hill - with the provision of a connection for Newport's industrial and business areas (the SDR) Newport Council lobbied for the M4 to be built through northern Newport - it came with plenty of junctions - which we all then used to travel back and for from one side of Newport to another. 

Many (some 100,000) journeys on the M4 are defined as local, we use the M4 for local journeys around or across Newport as well as to get to and from work. The proposed M4 Relief road is no simple by-pass - it will have at least 4 junctions effectively setting itself up for more of the same. its odd sometimes how history can repeat or echo itself - and no one seems to notice.

There is no simple easy fix solutions to our traffic and infrastructure problems, they are fundamentally underlined by a degree of tolerated (by Westminster, Cathays Park and Cardiff Bay) economic weakness. The problems are not, however, unsurmountable if tackled incrementally, one start would be to build railway stations at Caerleon / Ponthir, Llanwern and Magor.

These new stations should be built with adequate cheap, secure, safe park and ride facilities, tied in with local bus services - along with a reasonable regular timetabled service between Ebbw Vale and Newport - and we may begin to see a real reduction in local journeys across and around Newport on the M4 as people have a real alternative to using their cars.

A well designed and well thought out South Wales Metro that actually serves all of South Wales rather simply feeding people in and out of Cardiff, is not what's been offered. The Metro is often portrayed as a big single entity of a project - it is complex and multi layered - but it can and should be constructed incrementally.  As the completion of parts of the project will have significant local (and regional) impact on congestion, pollution and travel to (and from) journeys to work across the south east. 

Hand in hand with developing the South Wales Metro, future Welsh governments should also bite the bullet and ensure that ticket prices are cheap and that any franchise holder ensures that there is adequate provision of rolling stock (preferably from the early 21st rather than the late 20th century). We need 21st century ticketing which will enable users to make use of multiple modes of transport with single source ticketing. 

All this is achievable, deliverable and measurable - what's is desperately needed is the political will and a real / actual commitment to getting the job done, rather than simply talking about it. Sadly we have seen precious little of that in recent years from successive Labour in Wales government in Cardiff Bay or from a rabidly Brexit focused Westminster.

MAKE LIKE LUXEMBOURG!

When it comes to integrated public transport we would do well to make like Luxembourg which is about to become the first country in the world to make all its public transport free. The re-elected coalition government led by Xavier Bettel, who was sworn in for a second term as prime minister, will see fares on trains, trams and buses will be lifted next summer. Bettel’s Democratic party will form a government with the left wing Socialist Workers’ party and the Greens, had vowed to prioritise the environment during the recent election campaign. 

Luxembourg City, the capital of the small Grand Duchy, suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the world and is home to about 110,000 people, but a further 400,000 commute into the city to work. Drivers in the capital spent an average of 33 hours in traffic jams in 2016. While the country as a whole has 600,000 inhabitants, nearly 200,000 people living in France, Belgium and Germany cross the border every day to work in Luxembourg. 

The Grand Duchy, has shown a progressive attitude to public transport. This summer, the government brought in free transport for every child and young person under the age of 20. Additionally secondary school students can use free shuttles between their institution and their home. Commuters need only pay €2 for up to two hours of travel, which in a country of just 2,590 square km (999 square miles) covers almost all journeys. From the start of 2020 all tickets will be abolished, saving on the collection of fares and the policing of ticket purchases. As yet no decision has been taken on what to do about first- and second-class compartments on trains. 

REAL ALTERNATIVES

One of the reasons why we have little choice but to use our cars and the M4 to get around Newport (and to go to work) is because of the lack of any reasonable alternative easily accessible means of public transport. By now even the Welsh Labour government has finally run out of tired excuses and soft weasel words to hide their inaction and failure to deliver much beyond sound bites and logo laden graphic images. 

Occasionally seen but rarely advertised...

The simple but abject failure to connect the Ebbw Vale line to Newport means that commuters living in communities in the Ebbw Valley still remain unable to travel directly to Newport (and beyond) by train and have a real choice but to use their cars. They are denied the opportunity of catching connecting trains to Newport, Bristol, London, Cheltenham and beyond as well as possibly travelling slightly more rapidly to Cardiff in the morning and evening as result of the failure to run a fast service direct from Abertillery to Cardiff as originally promised. 

This leaves commuters no choice but to drive to work and help to feed the congestion of an already at times overcrowded M4. The Ebbw Vale line, at least to Cardiff, which reopened in 2008 and carried  a years worth of anticipated passengers in the first few months, made a real difference. It's a fact that the new rail service failed to connect to Newport from day one - despite the implied promises and suggestions made before and since the railway line was reopened. 

Ironically to all intents and purposes is already open – trains already run by stealth on occasions from Ebbw Vale into Newport and vice versa. The rail line and the signalling works fine – what we need is a regularly timetabled rail service - preferably now rather than later. Long overdue decisions about our infrastructure could make a real and significant difference and begin the process of providing realistic alternatives to everyday car use. 

Construction of railway stations at Caerleon / Ponthir, Llanwern and Magor - with well planned walk routes, safe, secure park and ride. Any railway stations should also include decent facilities which would make a real difference - along with the reinstatement of a more functional bus service (that's connected to the new railway stations). Elsewhere in Europe where significant housing developments are planned the infrastructure - often railway stations, tram stops and transport hubs are constructed first before any houses are built - but just not here.

By now the Welsh Labour government (even with new leadership) has run out of old excuses and soft weasel words to hide their failure to deliver. Our transport and infrastructure problems require political solutions and political decisions - something that will not come from the current incumbent inert Labour government in Cardiff Bay. With a post BREXIT world rapidly approaching- some hard sensible sustainable longer term choices need to be made with a degree of urgency - one of those should be to start work on (those parts of) the Metro that will make a real difference.

PUTTING NEWPORT ON THE MAP?

Simply making Newport a convenient place to get to other places from it or to quickly pass by is a no brainier and does little to deal with the underlying problems that Newport faces when it comes to retail and commercial activity within the city centre and the lack of easily accessible public transport in and around the city. For whatever reason it is relative easy to come to the conclusion that Newport barely figures in the collective mind of the Welsh Government. 

Relatively recent developments have done little to counter this train of thought - 20 years ago the geographical SE of our country was for most purposes pretty the former county of Gwent - with or without Caerphilly. Now the SE for a variety of purposes includes Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and RCT. This relatively low key change in regional geographical emphasis slipped by almost unnoticed but has done Newport few favours. 

Whereas 20 years ago long term thinkers were concerned about the Severn side agenda now we face the consequences - social, economic and political of the Cardiff capital city Region.. twenty years ago  our SE had one University (the University of Newport) the new SE at one point had  4 universities with Cardiff, Cardiff Metropolitan and University of Glamorgan lumped in together. 

That development combined with UWN management publically falling out with the then Labour in Wales Minister of Education meant that when up against it there would be no cavalry riding to the rescue. All those years that UWN had spent expensively wining and dining Labour in Newport and their cronies counted for nothing - all UWN got rather than support was the sound of silence. Post merger the continued visible run down of Newport City Centre campus does not provide a stable base upon which to build any knowledge and IT focused knowledge quarter. 

Transport wise our home city has missed out on the benefits of the reopening of the Ebbw Vale line to passenger traffic. Newport ceased to be (to a degree) the default initial destination for most travellers as trains run direct to Cardiff. The almost certainly deliberate decision to have trains running direct to Cardiff from Ebbw Vale (which was always the plan) but no slower hourly service to Newport significantly tweaked our regions transport geography. 

Media wise it's much the same, Newport - our country's third largest urban area barely features on our own national media - it was not until fairly recently that Newport (in Gwent) began to appear on the BBC Wales weather map. Football wise things are much the same -  Wrecsam football club gets far more media coverage on BBC Wales than Newport County ever does and this is despite the fact Newport has been in higher division for six years. 

The costly (in many ways) proposed M4 Relief road won't solve Newport and South Gwent traffic problems or cut firm on the short local journeys we have to make because of the lack of an alternative reliable method of public transport. The proposed metro, which could take significant steps towards developing some long overdue integrated public transport infrastructure appears to be more concerns with ferrying people and and out of Cardiff, rather than tackling even indirectly some of the underlying issues affecting Newport. 

We quite simply have to do better than that. What's needed - apart from railway stations at Celtic Lakes, Caerleon / Ponthir, Magor and Llanwern (with adequate, safe and secure park and ride, and other facilities) is an interested system of public transport (with rail, light rail, trams and buses) that stretches north to Cwmbran, east to Magor / Caldicot and Chepstow and West to central and eastern Cardiff providing us with easily accessible realistic alternatives to using our cars. 

Along with a decent easily accessible integrated public transport system - the norm in more than a few paces - we also need to look at creating a level playing field for our local small businesses. The Friars Walk in Newport has been a welcome exception to the last thirty five years, where across the south east, we have seen the commercial hearts of many of our communities (including Newport) seriously damaged (if not ripped out in some cases) as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision-making on the part of local government and central government indifference.

When combined with the rapid growth of unsustainable, ill-thought out and more than questionable out of town and edge of town retail developments which leave next to no place for the smaller local businesses and retailers and deprive consumers of real choice. When you factor in parking charges, business rates and the effect of the closure of high street banks and post offices in many of our communities and you begin to see why many of our smaller businesses and local shopping centres are up against it.

We need to focus on creating the right conditions for our local small businesses (and our communities) to not just survive, but to thrive and grow in Newport and across the SE. They are a vital part of the local economy, for as well as trading with us the consumers and customers, they also trade with each other - so the community gets twice the benefit. Money spent by and in local businesses spends on average three times longer in the local economy than that spent with chain stores which is instantly lost to the local economy which in times of recession our communities can ill afford - this are some the reasons why we need to change Newport and change Wales.  

REMEMBERING THE CHARTISTS

Last weekend saw the annual commemoration of the Chartists in Newport and across the South East. The Chartists struggle for the vote (and equal rights) was a long one, culminating initially with the Newport Rising in on 4th November 1839. The Chartist commemorations in Newport continue to go from strength to strength - with a combination of public events, marches, concerts, street theatre and an academic conference. 

The commemoration will hopefully continue to grow and develop as I t makes a real and positive contribution to Newport. We should continue to remember the Chartists here in Newport and within a wider context within Wales, the UK and Europe as part of the struggle for democracy and equal rights which is ongoing snd remains relevant  today as our democracy continues to evolve. 

1839 rather than 2018

The well organised and well attended events of the last weekend, fully supported by Newport City Council, contracts starkly with the underhand destruction of the popular Chartist mural, off John Frost Square (in Newport) on Thursday 3rd October 2013 which robbed many Newport residents of part of their personal and cultural history. 

I (personally, and no doubt many others) have fond memories of walking past the mural as children (in may case with my grandmother) and being fascinated by it. Now its gone, merely a memory, reduced to rubble on the (relative) quiet by the Labour Party in Newport, which was anxious to avoid embarrassing scenes as a demo to protest the destruction of the then proposed of the mural was in the offing.

The wining pathetic excuses bleated by Labour in Newport and their persistent refusal to engage and find a way to save the mural just about sums up the way the town of Newport has been treated over the years. Few people are against development or redevelopment but it needs to be sustainable and sympathetic to the needs of the city. The failure to work with local indigenous small businesses in and around Newport is a reality that has done great economic damage to the local economy and weakened our economy.

Gone but not forgotten

Friars Walk was welcomed, but, its struggling and it seems to have sucked the commercial live out of other parts of the town. We have to do something different, the new shopping centre, has promised much but the jurying still out on whether it will deliver much of lasting benefit, in a similar manner to the Kingsway Shopping Centre (back in the 1970's). 

Any shopping development should contain retail opportunities for small local businesses as money spent in local businesses circulates three times as long as money spent in 'UK national chains. Simply filling the development with chains means that what local money is spent will get hoovered up and vanished out of town as rapidly as possible. 

Various attempts to develop or redevelop Newport over the years, largely via the questionable vehicle of Newport Unlimited (more like 'Newport limited') have failed to deliver lasting economic growth. Local council cuts which continue to undermine local services have not helped, but, neither has a complete lack of vision and the contempt which has been demonstrated for the cities inhabitants today over the years.

If we are serious about redevelopment in Newport - then something needs to be done about the longtime empty near derelict Westgate Hotel in the heart of Newport. The former objective of the Chartists should be resurrected and redeveloped as a world class Chartists heritage centre - for both visitors to our city and the also for the rest of us.

Keywords: The Newport Rising, The Chartists,