Cabinet to consider A469 funding boost

Almost £1million funding is set to be made available to progress long-awaited highway improvements on the A469 between Pontlottyn and New Tredegar.

Almost £1million funding is set to be made available to progress long-awaited highway improvements on the A469 between Pontlottyn and New Tredegar.

The road, at Troedrhiwfuwch, has been impacted by significant ground movement following an initial landslip back in 2014. Single lane traffic restrictions have been in place since 2020, causing disruption and inconvenience to the local community.

The council has undertaken a lot of preliminary works over recent years and further investigation and design work is now required. This will culminate in a final design and selection of a contractor to undertake the works necessary to fully re-open the road.

Next week (Wed 5 April) the council’s Cabinet will consider agreeing funding of £935,000 to progress detailed design and budget estimates for the works. This will allow the initial monitoring and design stages of the project to progress at pace over the coming months while the council awaits announcement of funding from Welsh Government.

The council has been lobbying Welsh Government over recent years and a report published in February indicated that funding will be made available for an improvement scheme – although the funding details are not yet known.

Leader of Council, Cllr Sean Morgan said, “Our proposal to invest £935k in the scheme demonstrates the council’s commitment to resolve this long-standing issue, which is having a detrimental impact on so many people in the surrounding community.”

“We are now seeking urgent clarity from Welsh Government about the level of funding being made available to enable us to move this much-needed project forward.”

If the funding bid is unsuccessful, the Cabinet will seek to fund the necessary improvements to this key strategic route, via other funding sources.  

Once funding is secured for the full scheme, it is anticipated that improvement works will commence in 2024.

Issues with ground movement continue to present problems for the integrity of the road surface, but we wish to reassure residents and motorists that there is no imminent risk to highway users. Unfortunately, the traffic signals will remain in place for some time yet and the site will be subject to regular and on-going monitoring to ensure that the road remains safe.

The first in a series of regular newsletters providing details of the progress made so far and our planned next steps will be circulated to local residents and businesses next week. Further regular updates will follow as the plans progress.