AFTER the County Council’s Executive Board nodded through controversial plans to build a link road to a new housing development, preparatory works will soon be underway.
The council claims that the works are essential to create a corridor for the main construction work.
It involves the felling of some trees and the clearance of bushes near the car parks at Saint David’s Park and Pentremeurig Road, creating a ‘corridor’ for the main construction work.
The works are being carried out on April 7 and 8 and an ecological watching brief will be maintained to ensure no nesting birds, bats or other species are at risk.
The car parks will also be closed temporarily whilst the works take place.
The Carmarthen West Link Road is required before work on the housing developments can start and will provide a direct transport link between north-west Carmarthen (College Road) and the A40 at Traveller’s Rest.
The council dedicated £5m out of its own reserves to fund the project after an intervention by the Welsh Government that imposed restrictions on the number of homes that could be built on the new development without the Link Road being built.
The £5m earmarked for the roads project was announced the week after the council had declined to use its £120m+ reserves to mitigate the effects of cuts and service price rises across the county.
The developers had previously noted their concerns about the traffic signals leading to and from the construction site.
In addition, an interview given to S4C by former council leader Meryl Gravell has, The Herald, understands, given rise to a dispute between the developer at Carmarthen West and the council. The dispute relates to the amount the council has demanded as a contribution to the road’s construction from the developer. A Carmarthenshire Council statement now claims that the council is working with a number of unidentified ‘partner organisations’ in relation to the road’s funding.
Director of Environment Christina Harrhy said: “This is a very exciting and much-needed development for Carmarthen. Carmarthen West has been identified as a strategic site within the council’s Local Development Plan and is allocated for mixed use development including 1,100 new homes, a primary school, employment space, a small retail centre, open space and affordable housing; providing a significant economic boost to the area. These advanced works will enable the main construction work to commence in due course and will hopefully cause very little disruption. Staff and visitors to Saint David’s Park will be diverted to alternative car parks on site and the Pentremeurig car park will also be closed for those two days.”
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