Clwyd West MS Darren Millar yesterday raised in the Senedd the plight of residents living on Kinmel Bay’s Sandy Cove, who recently experienced flooding.
Calling for a Welsh Government statement on the issue of unadopted roads during the Business Statement, Darren referred to the situation at Sandy Cove.
Adverse weather on April 9th led to residents of the estate being evacuated from their homes. The estate has also been hit by flooding in the past.
Speaking in the Senedd Chamber, Darren said:
"I'd like to receive an update from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport on the issue of unadopted roads. Sandy Cove in Kinmel Bay, which has around 250 properties on unadopted roads, experienced flooding during storm Pierrick just over 10 days ago.
“That flooding was made worse because of the lack of drainage on that estate. It clearly needs an improvement to the drainage infrastructure. Those roads need to be up to an adoptable standard, and the poor condition of them is making life a misery for local residents.
“So, we do need updates from the Cabinet Secretary on the work that the Welsh Government is taking forward to address this issue of unadopted roads. I know that there has been an unadopted roads fund that has been established in Wales in recent years, but I don't think it's making sufficient progress on this matter, and we need to move it forward.”
The Trefnydd, Jane Hutt MS, replied:
“You also raise an important point about the impact of flooding and, of course, this is particularly relating to unadopted roads. I think it's important that this is very much a cross-Government issue as well in terms of the Cabinet Secretary for North Wales and Transport...but it's also, in terms of the infrastructure, an issue for the Minister for Climate Change and Rural Affairs in terms of the impact of the storm and flooding. So, again, thank you for raising that this afternoon.”
Speaking after the meeting, Darren said:
“With around 250 homes, Sandy Cove is probably the largest single community affected by poorly maintained unadopted roads in Wales.
"Upgrading the roads there would make the estate a safer, cleaner and more attractive place to live. It would also have a massive impact on the quality of life for residents, many of whom have disabilities and mobility problems.
“I have been calling for improvements on this estate for years and have raised it numerous times with Welsh Government Ministers. It is high time that action is taken to improve these roads so that these residents are not living in fear the next time there is extreme weather.”
