To the frustration of many campaigners and despite the funding being found for a study required to get the bypass built, the west England transport authority called Western Gateway Sub-national Transport Body (STB) has said that they won’t consider this to be a priority issue until after 2025.
The Chepstow bypass has been relentlessly called for by local councillors, Monmouth’s assembly member Nick Ramsay as well as David Davies who strongly made a case for building it in his role as chair of the Welsh affairs select committee last year.
As a result of their combined efforts, the second Welsh transport appraisal guidance (WelTAG) study has been funded with assistance from local authorities, the Welsh government and the UK government.
Monmouthshire County Council and Gloucestershire County Council jointly funded the first WelTAG study, but a second study is needed for construction on the bypass to get started.
Mr David told the Beacon: "Gloucester County Council is building a large number of houses which is putting a lot of pressure on Chepstow. A lot of people agree that a bypass is the answer. The study is going ahead which is a step closer to the bypass."
He added: "It’s a concern that Western Gateway STB don’t consider this a priority. They said they would consider it a priority after 2025, but that’s five more years of misery for motorists. Once the study is done, I would like to see the bypass expedited as quickly as possible."