Llanbedr residents block main road in protest of cancelled bypass plans
ITV Wales reporter Ian Lang visits Llanbedr where residents have been calling for the new bypass to ease the village's traffic woes
Residents of a village in North Wales blocked a major road this morning in frustration over cancelled plans to build a new bypass in the area.
The community of Llanbedr have been campaigning for a £14m bypass to take traffic away from their village for more than 60 years.
Locals gathered along the road at 11am this morning in a "peaceful" protest to highlight their campaign.
Some were heard chanting "save our village" while holding signs saying "peace and quiet not traffic riot" and "save our bridge".
One villager said: "We can't move because of the traffic in the summer, sometimes through the winter.
"Easter is horrendous, we can't move, we can't even walk let alone bring the cars through the village."
While another said: "We want the bypass, the bypass that was funded, that was approved, that was literally a second away from a spade going in the ground and we want it back and we deserve it as villagers."
The road was an early casualty when the Welsh Government axed it in 2021 over climate fears.
Since then, a road review has been carried out throughout Wales but the one-mile road remains off the table.
It comes as all road-building projects in Wales have been delayed, changed or scrapped altogether as the Welsh Government sets out a transport plan that aims to reduce carbon emissions.
But villagers say that ignores their community's needs both socially and economically.
The Welsh Government say they are working with Gwynedd Council to develop sustainable solutions to traffic congestion in the village.
The threat of climate change means they had to take a different approach.
Cllr Annwen Hughes said: "Firstly I would like to thank the Pobl group for arranging this protest which is simply to show the Welsh Government how frustrated we are as a community here in Llanbedr and also along the Ardudwy corridor that the improvements to the access road to the airfield (or as it is known locally the bypass) has once again been shelved.
"As a local girl born and raised in Llanbedr this matter has been going on for a number of years and work was supposed to start in January 2022 when the plans were once again shelved at the Cop 26 summit in November 2021.
"We depend very much on tourists to this area and the daily gridlock in the village is not helping matters at all and the health and safety of residents living in the village is been put at risk on a daily basis even in winter and the fumes from the traffic is not helping the environment.
"This protest is simply to show the Welsh Government in Cardiff that we here in Llanbedr have not given up the fight for this road to be built."
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