The leader of Gwynedd Council in North Wales has warned the country’s First Minister that he “inevitably has to consider legal options” over the decision not to bypass a village in the county.

In March the long-called for bypass of Llanbedr was approved, but the Welsh Government has now decided not to go ahead with it over environmental grounds.

But at the beginning of last month the Government decided the proposed scheme “does not align well with new Welsh Government transport and climate policy” and advised that it is taken forward.

Now council leader Dyfrig Siencyn has written to the First Minister Mark Drakeford saying that while the council is committed to the carbon reduction agenda, it was a huge disappointment for im, and the local communities to hear that the Government has made a decision not to fund a scheme it commissioned through the Enterprise Zone Board, based, as he says, “on a biased and inaccurate report, without even checking the evidence nor considering the impact of the decision not to invest on the community in the future.”

Therefore, he says, “Gwynedd Council inevitably has to consider legal options regarding the validity of your decision to reverse your financial contractual commitment to the scheme.”

The letter also states that he thinks the Welsh Government “misled us through the Review. Gwynedd Council was given pledges and positive feedback at various meetings with civil servants and Ministers where it was agreed that it was appropriate to continue with financial and legal processes. On this basis, we have continued with compulsory purchase orders (based on discussions with landowners for a number of years) and tendering for contractors to design and construct the road.”

(Picture – Google Streetview)