Laura Anne Jones MS on A40 Raglan and Magor station
After years of accidents, sadly, in the last month, a young man died on the stretch following a collision. With the community at crisis point over these unsafe junctions, with incidents increasing, and likely to increase further now that the Heads of the Valley Road is now finished, it is now imperative that action is taken.
I am pleased to say I managed to secure a commitment from the cabinet secretary for transport, Ken Skates, to come and meet with local representatives to hear our concerns, and I am pleased to report we had a really useful and productive meeting with Ken Skates MS and his Welsh Government officials this week.
It seems we will now see some improvements over the next year - 'quick wins' - that should, until a more permanent solution is found, be of some comfort to the Raglan and surrounding areas community.
There were also positive discussions on perhaps a new direction to take on achieving the more permanent big solution that we all jointly want to see achieved, as well as the 'quick wins' I have referenced above.
So we will continue to do all we can together, cross-party and cross-levels of government in Monmouthshire, for the best possible outcome for the Raglan A40, to hopefully prevent further future accidents and loss of life.
I would like to thank Mr Skates for joining us, and I would also like to thank my colleague Peter Fox MS, representative of Catherine Fookes MP, Cllr Richard John, Cllr Penny Jones, Cllr Jayne McKenna, Monmouthshire cabinet member Cllr Catrin Maby, Mitchel Troy Community Council, MCC Active Travel and Welsh Government officials and a big thanks to Raglan Community councillors for hosting the meeting and for leading the charge on this issue.
The announcement of a new rail station for Magor represents a hard fought victory for campaigners who have worked incredibly hard for many years, with again, cross-party support from representatives, of which I was one.
However, it remains to be seen whether the wider UK Government investment in rail will be sufficient to stop the rot caused by Cardiff Bay's mismanagement of Welsh infrastructure.
And while we do welcome this new investment in Welsh rail, it only amounts to £45 million per year, well below the £1 billion the UK Conservative Government spent on rail between 2014 and 2024.
In any case, the win for Magor and Undy shows what proper grassroots campaigning in our communities can do.
Our region has suffered with congestion on the M4 for years, and with the M4 relief road, we had a solution within our grasp.
Sadly, the Welsh Government binned the project, leaving residents frustrated.
In the Senedd in recent weeks, I was pleased to speak in a Welsh Conservative debate, calling for the M4 relief road to be resurrected and built.
It's time to make Wales open for business again.
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