Concerns have been raised again this week by the community of Narberth on plans to make changes to the road between the Penblewin Roundabout and Redstone Cross.

Motorists, residents and members of the public have been invited to share their views on proposed improvements to a stretch of road on the A40, with two sets of Public Information Exhibitions held earlier this year, which displayed the shortlist of options, a new consultation opened recently, and an event was held at the Queen’s Hall in Narberth on Monday to discuss the matter.

Shortlisted options identified for further consideration have been: Option 1A – Northern route with staggered T-junction at Redstone Cross; Option 1B – Northern route (no Redstone Cross Junction); Option 2A – Southern route with staggered T-junction at Redstone Cross; Option 2B – Southern route (no Redstone Cross Junction).

Narberth’s Deputy Mayor, Clr. Sue Rees said that she has written to the project manager at ARUP voicing her concerns about the proposals, but not received a reply.

“The best option would be to put a roundabout there but they have made it perfectly clear this is not an option because it will slow traffic flow,” she told the Observer.

“The only choice therefore, is option 2A, if Narberth is to survive as a vibrant town, but I would suggest that they place a barrier the length of the junction, so that any traffic wanting to join the A40 in either direction, has to turn left.

“To my knowledge all of the accidents that have been reported, including the deaths, were with vehicles trying to cross the A40 and the only plan that will make the junction safe is a barrier,” continued Clr. Rees, a former transport operator herself, who drove an articulated lorry all over Europe and the UK for fourteen years.

“My concern is that this plan will exacerbate the problems Narberth has with the free flow of traffic through the town.

“When an objection was raised, to the application I made some years ago for an Operator’s Licence, Welsh Government stated that Redstone Road was designated as the main access road for commercial vehicles into Narberth, and the objection was quashed; it is the main hub for commercial businesses in the town.

“At present commercial vehicles enter directly from the A40, deliver their goods and return to the A40, without going through the town. On the 2B plan, they will be accommodated by a side road leading from the A478, which will be clearly signposted, as there will be no direct access to Narberth from the A40 for any vehicles via Redstone Road.

“This assumes that all commercial vehicles want to go to Redstone Road and that they know where they are going. But a large number of these vehicles will want to have access to the High Street and will not be able to easily negotiate it via Redstone Road.

“The town end of Redstone Road is extremely narrow with cars always parked on one side, there is a sharp bend which can only be negotiated by using the whole carriageway and if there were two large vehicles going in opposite directions, there would be pandemonium, leading to gridlock.

“Added to which, the junction at Northfield Road onto Spring Gardens needs to be approached with extreme care by large vehicles, it is very tight, as the street furniture and buildings historically can attest,” she explained.

“My other concern is that, the new option being offered will be catastrophic for the economy of the town of Narberth, in fact it will act as a by-pass, which is the last thing that Narberth needs.

“Narberth is a small, apparently thriving, town with an apparently vibrant High Street and a good community, but in these days of uncertainty it would not take much to devastate the tenuous economy of the town, as has happened with many other high streets throughout Wales and the rest of the UK,” added Clr. Rees.

Narberth Chamber of Trade chair, Andrew Rees has also voiced his concerns, explaining that the chamber and townspeople will be left concerned if the proposed new Redstone cross road doesn’t have access from the west, as the consensus is that traffic will turn off at the first exit to Narberth via the Robeston Wathen roundabout, which will then increase traffic congestion in the town.

“Also they then have to then use Northfield road past the health centre which is a notorious pinch point for cars and lorries now without further traffic,” he explained.

“Redstone road is a busy hive of activity with many business employing hundreds of jobs. The last thing we want is to cut off a key access onto the road which in turn will disrupt customers, employees and deliveries,” added Mr. Rees.

As the consultation on improving the A40 at Redstone Cross continues, Narberth county councillor Vic Dennis and Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate Marc Tierney have suggested an additional option to the plans being discussed.

Responses received so far suggest that Option 2B is the preferred option which removes the current junction and runs the bypass to the south of the existing A40.

However, both Clr. Dennis and Mr. Tierney have suggested that a westbound slip road is necessary to link traffic from Redstone Road onto the A40 towards Haverfordwest, keeping heavy traffic away from Narberth town centre.

Clr. Dennis said: “The primary concern of the community is the current safety of Redstone Cross. Whilst addressing this the Welsh Government want to take the opportunity to bring the A40 up to modern design standards. The 2B route was selected as the preferred route by those that saw the plans at the previous consultation and route 2B does improve the safety by doing away from the junction.

“Now concerns have arisen that vehicles who want to go westwards, towards Haverfordwest, from Redstone Road will either have to go to Penblewin and return along the new A40 or enter town through Northfield Road and add to the congestion around the town centre.”

Mr. Tierney added: “At a recent public meeting which I chaired at the Bloomfield Centre, concerns were raised over the potential increase of traffic through Narberth if the current junction was removed.

“That is why I put forward the suggestion of constructing a slip road so traffic could exit Redstone Road towards Haverfordwest.

“I am pleased to hear that this is being actively examined but it does not appear as part of any of the options currently under examination. I will be following up on those concerns and supporting the option of a slip road with the Minister for Economy and Transport in Welsh Government in representing the views of local residents.”

The consultation is available to see at https://gov.wales/a40-penblewin-redstone-cross-improvements and if others have concerns they should take the opportunity to reply to the consultation by September 20.