Guest blog by Matthew Ford, Advocacy and Campaigns Officer
“Here’s the truth: many people thought the so-called M4 “relief” road would get built through the Gwent Levels. It had been talked about for decades and so when the Welsh Government brought forward its plans to divert the M4 motorway through this historical part of Wales it seemed like a done deal.
Maybe they thought that people didn’t care enough about nature. That we’d turn a blind eye after being promised faster journeys.
If this is what they thought, then they couldn’t be more wrong. What they didn’t count on was you, the public, who have spoken up in your thousands against this diversion. And what’s clear now is that the campaign against the M4 diversion through the Gwent Levels is getting stronger.
The Gwent Levels
Since we started our public campaign against this devastating motorway diversion consultation, the media have rightfully taken a great interest in the fact that nature and its wildlife will be destroyed. Politicians are also beginning to speak up against the possibility of the road being built. Where the diversion plans seemed so concrete a few months ago, government promises are now getting vaguer.
One of the reasons for this is because thousands of you have taken action to say no to the draft Orders that would allow the M4 to be diverted across four special protected sites for wildlife on the Levels. That’s a major demonstration of how we want our government to save nature, not destroy it.
Goldcliff reen, Gwent Levels
Every single vital response makes it more likely that the threatened otters and lapwings that call the Gwent Levels home will be protected. Each response means that one of the UK’s rarest bumblebees, the shrill carder bee, has a better chance of thriving. Each response makes it less likely that the M4 will be diverted through the Gwent Levels.
Can we count on you to add your name before the M4 consultation ends at midnight on May 4?
There is still one last chance to add your voice to the thousands of others that are speaking up for nature. All you have to do is click here and follow our easy online tool.
The number of people taking action to stop the M4 diversion is now impossible to ignore so please add your voice to protect the Gwent Levels, for the people and for the wildlife that live there.“