Guest blog by Katie-jo Luxton, RSPB Cymru Director
This blog is a thank you to all of you who took part in our campaign to take action against the M4.
When the Welsh Government brought forward its plans to divert the M4 motorway earlier this year, the diversion sadly seemed like a done deal. Maybe the government thought that people didn’t care enough about nature or that we’d turn a blind eye after being promised faster journeys. However if this is what they thought, then they couldn’t have been more wrong. What they didn’t count on was the astonishing amount of support from members of the public who spoke up in their thousands. That’s a major demonstration of how we want the Welsh Government to save nature, not destroy it.
As I write a new Welsh Government is forming and our new cohort of Assembly Members are gearing up for the new Assembly term. Please do make sure that your new elected members know your views on the proposed M4 as the building of this road is now a hot political issue and will be a real test of commitments to sustainable development.This overwhelming response makes it more likely that the threatened otters and lapwings that live in the Levels will continue to be protected. Each response means that our wildlife has a better chance of thriving. Each response makes it less likely that the M4 motorway can be diverted through the heart of the Gwent Levels.
The public consultation has now come to a close and the new Welsh Government will announce the results shortly. If they choose to build the road now they’ll be choosing to ignore all the voices that spoke out against it.
But before then I’d just like to thank you, the public, for your unfathomable support against the M4 diversion. Together we have given nature the voice it deserves, which will hopefully inspire the Welsh Government to protect the Gwent Levels for both the people and the wildlife that call it home. For all the latest news from RSPB Cymru, please follow us on Twitter @RSPBCymru or on Facebook at RSPB Cymru.