AM expects shovels in the ground on £200m Deeside road plan by 2021

Ken Skates, Welsh Government cabinet secretary for economy and infrastructure, said he wanted to deliver the Deeside Corridor project “as fast as possible” and expects work to begin on the A494/A55/A548 “during this Assembly term”.

Mr Skates said doing nothing to improve the road infrastructure was not an option as “this part of the country will become less competitive”.

Speaking to the Leader, the Clwyd South AM said he was “incredibly disappointed” by the decision by Witter Towbars to relocate jobs from Deeside Industrial Park and companies like Airbus in Broughton were at the heart of the Welsh Government’s response to the “Brexit challenge”.

In September, Mr Skates, confirmed the Welsh Government would adopt the “red” route as the preferred option for the A494/A55/A548 upgrades.

The plan is the major element of a multi-layered investment into infrastructure in Deeside which includes improvement to the A494 River Dee bridge, a new Deeside Parkway rail station and cash for bus service improvements on the B5129 Deeside corridor.

The red route involves a new road between the A55 and A458 via the Flintshire Bridge and a new junction to join the A55 near Northop/Flint Mountain.

Mr Skates said plans were in motion with a view to work starting on the new road as soon as possible.

He said: “I’m asking for that entire project to be delivered as fast as possible.

“The red route was selected and we’re now working up detailed plans that can be scrutinised at a likely public enquiry.

“Following that and based on the outcome, I’m confident that we’ll be able to present a very compelling argument for the road to go ahead and we’d expect to have shovels in the ground during this Assembly term – by 2021.

“I just want to see work commenced as soon as possible on that particular scheme.”

As part of the upgrades, “necessary improvements” will also be carried out on the bridge to Aston Hill, a “terrible pinch point that needs urgent attention”.

The economy secretary added: “We’re definitely going to move ahead with whatever is required there, whether it’s remedial works with upgrades or new carriageway over a new bridge, we’ll do what is required to make sure we remove that pinch point because that’s a big barrier coming in and out of Wales.”

The chosen route was selected ahead of an alternative “blue” project and Mr Skates said he and his team had taken on board concerns from those not supportive of the Senedd’s pick.

He said: “Overwhelmingly, we’ve had public support for the choice of the red route but we’ve had concerns among some people and in some communities which we need to address and we’ll be looking at addressing those ahead of a likely public enquiry.

“We can’t do nothing because if we don’t improve our road infrastructure, this part of the country will become less competitive and we’re seeing right across the Northern Powerhouse region, heavy investment in infrastructure and transport in particular and we need to respond to it accordingly if we’re going to hold on to the jobs we’ve got and attract investors here in the future.”

The loss of more than 80 manufacturing jobs from Witter Towbars on Deeside Industrial Park was confirmed in October.

Horizon Global said it would proceed with a proposal to close the production plant and transfer the work over to eastern Europe.

Mr Skates, whose department offered support to the company in a bid to keep the jobs in Deeside, said he was “bitterly disappointed” it wasn’t taken up.

He said: “We offered the help and I was bitterly disappointed with that particular decision and I really
feel for the staff who have been affected by that.

“We worked closely with the trade union to try to offer as much help as possible to prevent those jobs from going and they (the company) simply didn’t take the offer of help so I was really disappointed and frustrated by that.

“I’m confident we’ll be able to bring new high quality jobs to the area but that doesn’t help people who’ve been affected who, in the meantime, could endure a period of unemployment at a time of year when you least wish to be out of work.

“We’re given them all the support we can in partnership with Careers Wales and Job Centre Plus but that does not disguise the fact I was incredibly disappointed by the decision of the company.”

Last month, Katherine Bennett, senior vice president of Airbus UK warned that Britain risks losing the “crown jewels” of its aviation industry to China as a result of Brexit.

Mr Skates said the “anchor companies” like Airbus, with its wing manufacturing plant in Broughton, had made it clear they wanted access to the single market and were vital to the Welsh Government’s response to the UK’s departure from the European Union.

He said: “Companies like Airbus are at the heart of our consideration of how we respond to the Brexit challenge.

“I’ve directly engaged with Airbus and other anchor companies in determining what it is the business community require through the course of the negotiations and it’s quite clear they want free access to the single market.

“They want to be able to bring people who have specific skills from outside of the UK, at the drop of a hat, into our facilities here should they be needed, if plant machinery goes down or if repairs need to be carried out.

“Equally, they need to have the confidence that experienced, skilled staff from Broughton and other facilities are able to travel out, again immediately, without any barriers to facilities on the continent.

“So it’s absolutely essential that as we exit the EU, we exit it in a way that doesn’t harm future job prospects and insofar-as Welsh Government can give to companies such as Airbus, my big priority is on skills and infrastructure and making sure the infrastructure is in place to make businesses accessible and to make sure they’ve got access to skilled workers.”