WELSH Secretary Simon Hart visited Newport yesterday to talk up his party's plans to revive the M4 relief road project.

The Welsh Conservatives have pledged to build the 23-kilometre stretch of motorway should they win power in May's Senedd election, reversing the decision made by first minister Mark Drakeford in 2019.

Mr Hart, who lives in West Wales and spends much of his working week in London, told the Argus businesses and motorists who travel through Newport on the existing motorway "can't carry on as we are".

The Conservatives in both Wales and Westminster argue the Brynglas tunnels present a "bottleneck" on the M4, causing traffic chaos and stifling the regional economy.

The construction of a virgin stretch of road, bypassing Newport to the south, is "essential to free up the economy, allow investment and create jobs," Mr Hart said yesterday.

While the current Welsh Labour-led Senedd government agrees that fixing Newport's motorway problems is a priority, Mr Drakeford's party has opted for what they believe is a more sustainable solution – the public transport revolution, centred around huge rail investment, that was proposed by the independent South East Wales Transport Commission last year.

The relief road was a Welsh Labour manifesto promise in the last Senedd election, but shortly after he became first minister, Mr Drakeford cancelled the project, citing spiralling estimated costs and environmental concerns.

Now, the party claims anyone willing to promote the relief road project, when the commission's proposed alternatives have been received warmly by Welsh and UK ministers, are "burying their heads in the sand".

Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are all opposed to the revival of the relief road project, while the Welsh Conservatives are backed up by the anti-establishment parties of Abolish and Reform UK.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Hart said fears of environmental damage should be revised, and reiterated the Tories' "net-zero ambitions".

Looking ahead to expected developments in the growth of electric and hydrogen cars, Mr Hart said "we're not going to do anything that has a negative environmental impact".

However, campaigners who opposed the original relief road plans continue to maintain the project would cause "irreparable damage" to the Gwent Levels.

Mr Hart insisted "building a new bit of road doesn't have to be environmentally damaging" and said "we still need to have a functioning economy".

The Welsh secretary was speaking during a visit to family-owned haulage firm Monex Group along with the Tories' South Wales East regional candidate Laura Anne Jones.

Afterwards, Monex Group managing director James Howells told the Argus he agreed "something has got to happen" to solve traffic problems on the M4, but felt any projects should focus on the Brynglas area rather than building a brand-new bypass.

" I don't want to have Newport surrounded by motorways," he added.