#seneddelection2026 — Public Fediverse posts

LLANDEILO: Green candidate’s bypass backing sparks row with Labour MS — as locals say just build it

A bypass that has been promised, delayed, reviewed and re-promised for more than half a century has found a new use — as ammunition in a Senedd election row between a Green Party candidate and the Labour MS whose seat he is now trying to win.

The flashpoint came when Cllr Rob James, the Green Party’s lead candidate for Sir Gaerfyrddin — the constituency covering the whole of Carmarthenshire — posted on Facebook backing the long-awaited Llandeilo bypass.

The bypass has been in the pipeline since it was first raised in Parliament in 1970. Feasibility studies were underway by 1973. Construction was supposed to begin in 2019. It didn’t. A new start date of 2025 was set. That didn’t happen either. The current estimate has construction beginning in 2029, with completion targeted for 2031 — and a price tag of £88 million, up from an original budget of £50 million.

Cllr James invoked the case of Ella Kissi-Debrah — the first person in the UK whose death was officially linked to air pollution — to make his case. “Air quality isn’t an abstract issue. It has real consequences,” he wrote, arguing that HGVs thundering through Llandeilo’s narrow streets every day were creating real health risks.

Llandeilo is a designated air quality management area due to historic breaches in nitrogen dioxide levels. “Doing nothing,” Cllr James said, “isn’t a Green option.”

Lee Waters, the outgoing Labour MS for Llanelli — whose constituency has been absorbed into the new county-wide Sir Gaerfyrddin seat at this election — was unimpressed. A champion of sustainable transport who is not seeking re-election in May, his response on Facebook was brief and pointed: “Novel to have a Green candidate who favours building a by-pass on a flood plain.”

Waters then contacted media outlets to pile on further, saying: “See this Facebook comment from the lead Green candidate in Carmarthenshire, doubling down in favour of a by-pass. Needless to say, this is not Green policy.”

There is some irony in Waters taking this particular stand. As transport minister, he oversaw a review that froze most new road-building projects in Wales — but the Llandeilo bypass was one of the few schemes that survived the cull. A consultant, Arcadis, was subsequently appointed to develop the outline design. The bypass remains Welsh Government policy — a point Cllr James was quick to make.

“The Welsh Government has decided to take forward the Llandeilo bypass, so it’s Labour Party policy,” Cllr James hit back. “Obviously there are concerns about its precise routing and there’s a need to make sure that environmental factors are taken into consideration. To be fair, Plaid Cymru, which controls the county council, has taken that view for a long time. Llandeilo deserves its bypass.”

While the two traded blows online, Carl Peters-Bond, an independent candidate for Sir Gaerfyrddin, said the whole row was missing the point. “Having listened to the people of Llandeilo, they’re not interested in political spats — they just want their bypass built,” he said.

Peters-Bond, who has been campaigning in the town, said the reality on the ground was hard to ignore. “Whilst campaigning recently in Llandeilo it was not possible to hold a conversation for more than a few seconds before getting deafened by huge HGVs thundering through the narrow streets. Air pollution, noise and road safety concerns in Llandeilo are a real concern for residents.”

He added: “The bypass has been talked about at length for decades. It’s a trunk-route part of the major A483 that links South West and North Wales. The volume of heavy goods and other vehicle traffic that navigate the narrow roads have far exceeded what is safe. It’s about time the bypass was built.”

Cllr James also used the exchange to make a bold claim about the Greens’ prospects in the constituency. “The Labour vote in Carmarthenshire has collapsed and we believe the Greens are likely to poll higher than Labour. We are definitely in with a chance of winning a seat here,” he said.

The spat is not without its backstory. Cllr James was previously the leader of the opposition Labour group on Carmarthenshire County Council before being suspended by the party in January 2024 and subsequently joining the Greens.

His path out of Labour followed an incident in which he was accused of sending a text message to a Plaid Cymru councillor suggesting they could have some fun by claiming that Waters had two homes in Llanelli and didn’t live in either of them. He said the message was meant facetiously and that he had forgotten sending it. Party officials said allowing him to remain in Labour’s parliamentary candidate selection process would risk reputational damage for the party.

That history between the two makes the Facebook spat feel like rather more than an abstract policy debate — and all the while, in Llandeilo, the lorries keep coming through.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Consultant appointed to progress Llandeilo bypass scheme
The Welsh Government appointed Arcadis Consulting to develop the outline design for the long-awaited A483 bypass.

Former Carmarthenshire Labour leader defects to Green Party
How Cllr Rob James made the move from Labour group leader to Green Party Senedd candidate.

Controversial Welsh transport minister to leave post
Lee Waters steps down as transport minister and announces he will not seek re-election.

Freeze on new roads projects to be announced
The road-building review that froze most Welsh Government schemes — but not the Llandeilo bypass.

AMMANFORD: Questions raised over future of school land as council stays silent

A Carmarthenshire councillor is demanding answers over land purchased for a new school in Ammanford, after years of promises with no sign of building work on the horizon.

Carmarthenshire County Council confirmed in 2023 — following questions from Green Party councillor Rob James — that it had bought land for a new school in the town, with Welsh-medium provision described as a priority. At the time the purchase was seen as a significant step forward after more than a decade of discussion about modernising education in the area.

But despite the land acquisition, there has been no public update on when — or whether — a school will actually be built there.

Recent council decisions have focused on reconfiguring nursery provision within existing schools, with no corresponding announcement on the new build. That silence has prompted Cllr James to write formally to the Cabinet Member for Education seeking answers.

He wants the council to confirm whether it still owns the land, whether the project remains active, and whether alternative brownfield sites have been fully considered as part of a sustainable approach to development.

Cllr James, who is also the Welsh Green Party‘s Senedd candidate for Sir Gaerfyrddin, said residents had been hearing about new school plans in Ammanford for years without seeing any results.

“The council has even gone as far as purchasing land, yet there is still no clear timeline for when a new school will be built,” he said. “People deserve to know what is happening with the land that has been purchased and whether this long-promised investment is still going ahead.”

The Green councillor said the condition of existing school buildings made the lack of progress all the more frustrating.

“Having visited the schools in Ammanford, I know that the environment in which pupils are being taught in is not fit for purpose,” he said.

The need to modernise education provision in Ammanford has been recognised since at least the early 2010s, when proposals for new and reorganised schools first featured in the council’s Modernising Education Programme. More than a decade on, the community is still waiting for a clear plan — and Carmarthenshire is not alone in facing questions about the future of its schools, with rural communities across the county facing the threat of closures as the council presses ahead with its wider modernisation programme.

Cllr James has form for holding the council to account on infrastructure and investment. He has previously challenged transport plans he said left west Wales communities behind, and the Ammanford area has featured in broader debates about investment in the region’s towns and transport links.

Cllr James said the issue was ultimately one of transparency and accountability.

“After more than a decade of discussion, the community deserves clear answers,” he said.

Carmarthenshire County Council has responded to say that they are not able to provide a comment to Swansea Bay News on this during the pre-election period for May’s Senedd election

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Rural schools under threat: Carmarthenshire communities face piecemeal closures as council defends tough decisions
Carmarthenshire communities have been fighting to keep local schools open as the council presses ahead with its modernisation programme.

Future of Llanelli, Ammanford and Carmarthen town centres set out in new plans
New plans set out the council’s vision for the future of Carmarthenshire’s main town centres.

Metro row: Carmarthenshire councillor blasts ‘Swansea-centric’ transport vision
Cllr Rob James challenged transport plans he said left west Wales communities behind.

Labour candidate backs metro link to Ammanford and Llanelli as debate grows over west Wales transport
The debate over transport investment in west Wales intensified as candidates staked out their positions.

Former Carmarthenshire Labour leader defects to Green Party
A high-profile defection boosted the Green Party’s growing presence in Carmarthenshire politics.

METRO ROW: Carmarthenshire councillor blasts ‘Swansea-centric’ transport vision

The latest row follows the unveiling of a long-term vision for a Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro — a plan that has been talked about for years but is still yet to secure full funding.

As previously reported in our coverage of the proposed £1.4bn transport overhaul for the region, the Metro has been billed as a transformative project to improve rail, bus and active travel links across south west Wales.

But critics now say the reality is falling far short of the ambition.

Carmarthenshire councty councillor and Green Party Senedd candidate, Rob James has launched a scathing attack on the latest announcement, branding it a “political stunt”.

He warned that the plans risk becoming “increasingly Swansea-centric”, with little clarity on what they will deliver for communities outside the city.

The Metro vision, backed by Welsh Government transport secretary Ken Skates and Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart, sets out a long-term ambition for improved connectivity across the region.

It includes proposals for new stations, better integration between transport modes and, in the longer term, the possibility of light rail or tram-style systems.

However, despite the big-picture vision, the scheme remains at an early stage — with no fully confirmed, ring-fenced funding in place for major infrastructure.

That lack of detail has become a key flashpoint.

Cllr James said:

“The latest announcement on the Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro should be called out for what it really is — a political stunt.

“The announcement provided little hope to the residents of Carmarthenshire that we will have reliable, affordable public transport in our county in the near future.”

He pointed to what he described as an imbalance in the proposals, claiming that multiple new stations or hubs are planned for Swansea, while Carmarthenshire appears to have been left with little concrete benefit.

“Despite the Metro having been discussed for the last ten years, we are still at the early planning stage with no ring-fenced capital funding allocated,” he said.

“The vision is becoming Swansea-centric… If we are to work collaboratively in our region, all areas must reap the benefits and I will not allow my county to be short changed.”

The comments come at a sensitive time, with the future of transport investment emerging as a key issue ahead of the next Senedd election.

Cllr James, who was formally the leader of the Welsh Labour group on Carmarthenshire Council before defecting to the Green Party, accused Welsh Labour politicians of attempting to “hide the lack of progress” on the Metro, calling for a shift away from what he described as “wish lists”.

“We need a Welsh Government that doesn’t support wish lists, but instead rolls up their sleeves and gets on with the job of modernising our public transport network,” he added.

Supporters of the Metro argue that the project is a long-term strategy designed to unlock economic growth, improve access to jobs and reduce reliance on cars across the region.

But with no firm timeline for delivery of the biggest elements, questions remain over when — or if — communities beyond Swansea will see real change on the ground.

For residents across Carmarthenshire, the concern is a familiar one — that major regional projects are announced with fanfare, but take years to materialise, if at all.

The debate over who benefits most from the Metro is now likely to intensify as more detail — and crucially, funding — either emerges or fails to do so.