THE REJECTION of the judicial review into the proposed M4 relief road means this project has overcome surmounted a significant hurdle.

Friends of the Earth started the legal challenge over the Welsh Government’s decision-making process which saw it opt for the so-called black route for the new road.

But the judge yesterday dismissed their case in full.

This does not mean that the many opponents to this scheme will be silenced, nor does it means that significant work on this scheme can start any time soon.

There are still major questions being asked by the green lobby, by opposition politicians and by those who see the £1bn project as simply too expensive.

There is also still the likelihood of a public inquiry to get through.

But the High Court judgement means that the Welsh Government can now follow the process through to the next step.

Three contractors are already in place to start on the preliminary development work which will see the constructingon of 24km of motorway with a viaduct across the River Usk.

Those firms will now work on environmental surveys and other pre-development work. And in our view this is good news.

The current congestion levels around Newport are just too economically damaging for us to let things stay as they are.

They are damaging not just the Newport economy but wider Welsh interests and it is high time that this road was approved in full and construction started.