Media

Following the announcement in last week’s Spring Budget that the Westminster Government is buying the land at Wylfa from Hitachi for a new nuclear power development, a pro-growth campaign group is urging the Chancellor to back other critical infrastructure on Yns Môn.

Britain Remade, which campaigns to slash the time it takes for economy boosting infrastructure projects to get underway, has written to Jeremy Hunt urging him to work with the Welsh Government to get a Third Menai Crossing built.

In his letter Sam Richards, the founder of Britain Remade told the Chancellor that “thousands of people in North Wales currently rely on just two 19th century bridges to get on and off the island. The temporary closure of one of the bridges in 2022 caused traffic chaos and economic pain for the people and businesses that rely on being able to get on and off Yns Môn.”

Highlighting the economic case for a new bridge over the Menai strait, Mr Richards added: “Not only is a third Menai crossing essential for improving the island’s resilience, it’s also key to unlocking economic growth. Building a third crossing will make it easier for freight to travel to and from the Port of Holyhead, the major link for goods and people travelling between the UK and Ireland, and help the business case for new nuclear at Wylfa.”

A third crossing over the Strait is essential for securing a new nuclear power station at Wylfa. A move that will create thousands of high-quality jobs, while helping to fight climate change, provide clean, secure domestic energy and increase energy abundance. 

Launching it’s campaign for a Third Menai Crossing last year Britain Remade found that the Welsh Government’s decision to cancel a new road linking Anglesey to the mainland on environmental grounds was opposed by close to half (46%) of people within the region and supported by just a third (33%) of people who live in north Wales.

Research from Britain Remade also found continuing to deliver new road projects that cut traffic congestion, speed up journey times and increase economic growth can happen at the same time as tackling climate change.

The analysis, which looked at the impact of Westminster’s main scheme for building and upgrading Britain’s motorways and major roads, found that adding 370 miles on new roads increased CO2 emissions by just 0.1%. This includes emissions from both building and maintaining the roads and the extra journeys that the new roads encourage.

Sam Richards, Founder and Campaign Director of Britain Remade, said:

“The announcement that the Government is buying the Wylfa site is excellent news and will hopefully unlock the site for a new nuclear power station, something that will improve our energy security, increase energy abundance and create good-quality jobs for people on Yns Môn.

“But, new nuclear at Wylfa should not be delivered in isolation. To make the case for a new power station on the island as strong as possible a Third Menai Crossing is needed. Each day 42,300 vehicles rely on the existing 19th century bridges, bridges that cause chaos and economic pain when they are forced to close. 

“It is crucial that the Governments in Westminster and Cardiff work together to get the Third Menai Crossing built as quickly as possible.”