A CALL for AMs to be given the final say on whether the the M4 relief road should be given the go-ahead has been rejected.

A public inquiry into the long-promised project is currently in progress and is expected to conclude shortly.

And Plaid Cymru presented a motion in the Assembly earlier today calling for AMs to be given a vote before a final decision is made.

But the motion, which was presented in the wake of revelations around the cost of the project, which was originally estimated as less than £1 billion but is now predicted to be up to £1.4 billion, with VAT not yet taken into account, was defeated.

Opening the debate, Plaid Cymru's Adam Price said: "It's parliaments that should decide, surely, on major policy decisions."

He added: "It absolutely has to be right that it's this place that should make the final decision, and we'll be listening very, very carefully to what the government has to say on that matter."

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies also spoke during this afternoon's debate, saying: "What we have real concerns over is the cost and the escalating costs of the project, and we very much want to be able to have a say on that.

"We have made it quite clear that we will not give any blank cheques when it comes to this project."

But he added he agreed a solution to traffic problems on the motorway was needed.

"You cannot turn your back on that situation, that the road has a serious problem and a serious stranglehold on the Welsh economy," he said.

Ukip's David Rowlands, who represents South Wales East, also backed the Plaid motion.

"The M4 relief road scheme is one of the biggest and most expensive projects ever undertaken by the Welsh Assembly and one of such importance that the Welsh Government itself saw fit to launch a long-lasting and exhaustive inquiry into its form and format," he said.

"It therefore would seem eminently important that the whole of the Assembly should have a meaningful input into the decision made."

Responding to the debate, economy and transport secretary Ken Skates said: "The Welsh Government has not, and nor will it, make a decision without fully and diligently considering the inspector's findings and conclusions."

AMs instead backed a Labour motion saying "nothing should be done to prejudice the outcome of the inquiry, the inspectors' report or the statutory process".