Author: Gwyn Llanbedr

An Alternative to the Bypass

Posted on By Gwyn Llanbedr

Introduction

Most of the businesses in the Llanbedr village say they rely for most of their income on tourists and much of that from either passing trade or from those who see what the village has to offer as they pass through and return later – if only we had some decent parking for them! You only have to see how quiet it is in the Winter to realise this. Quite understandably most of the businesses do not wish to speak out as they believe that they would receive a lot of ill-will from some in the community.

What about us having pavements on the road and traffic calming so we can all walk to the village feeling safer but still allowing the businesses to survive?

There is an alternative to a Llanbedr bypass.

  • These proposals will cost a small fraction of the £14.3 million bypass.
  • They will achieve all of Gwynedd Council’s stated transport objectives (see below)
  • They score highly against the Welsh Government’s Impact Area criteria (see below)
  • They will be less damaging to the environment.
  • They will not damage the views from the village.
  • They will not increase the background noise in the village.
  • They will not increase the flood risk in the village.
  • They do not compromise the Shoreline Management Plan.
  • They will support the businesses on the main road that depend on passing trade for their survival.
  • They will ensure that pedestrians feel safe on the road.
  • They will protect existing footpaths.
  • They will not harm the setting of the Meini Hirion standing stones.
  • They will ensure that we do not suffer from the sort of junctions that made the Dolgellau bypass a death trap.
  • They will curtail speeding and make it safer for vehicles to join the main road.
  • They will provide proper parking for visitors who wish to enjoy the village and its hinterland.
  • They will improve the traffic flow especially at the Mochras Road junction.
  • They will provide improved access to the airfield should development occur there.

No-one is suggesting that these proposals will be easy to achieve, but the end result has to be worth the effort. If necessary, they can be introduced in stages to spread the cost.

If there had been proper consultation from the outset these proposals could have been independently assessed and the taxpayer could have saved the £1 million already spent. Continue reading “An Alternative to the Bypass” →

Bypass FAQs

Posted on By Gwyn Llanbedr

(This is quite a long read, but if you are willing to consider a well written and researched case against building a bypass,  then you will find it worthwhile. The author refutes many of the partisan claims made by  Gwynedd Council and also by Llanbedr Community Council, a body intended to represent all shades of opinion in the community fairly.)

Q1:           Isn’t a bypass necessary for development at the airfield?

A1:               Absolutely not.

The Economic Impact Report commissioned by Gwynedd Council from Wavehill Consultants of Aberaeron gives three scenarios for development at the airfield.

  1. Development to continue as it has done for the last 5 years since the enterprise zone was established.
  2. Research and development into unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for which planning permission already exists
  3. Development of a spaceport.

The Report concludes “this study has found that the direct economic impact of proposed roadworks in and around Llanbedr to improve access to the nearby airfield as a stand-alone intervention is limited.” It also concludes that a spaceport would not be viable without road access improvements but other developments at the airfield could happen without the improvements.

However even a spaceport does not require a bypass. A simple access road from the A496 between Llanbedr and Dyffryn Ardudwy will provide a more secure and safer access to the airfield which would avoid heavy vehicles having to turn into Mochras Road.

Together with improvements to parking in the village, the provision of a footbridge and walkways and other traffic measures this would solve allof the named issues. However despite looking at a total of 23 of their own “options”, this option was not even considered by Gwynedd Council despite it being pointed out to them on many occasions. Continue reading “Bypass FAQs” →