Campaigners from ‘Stand Up for Newgale’ [STUN] have claimed that the public are being ‘misled’ over plans to introduce a new bypass for the coastal location in Pembrokeshire.

STUN have accused Montreal based 'engineering, procurement, and construction' firm AtkinsRéalis, along with Pembrokeshire County Council of ‘misleading the public’ over the need for the new Newgale bypass, saying that by using photos of the only major flood Newgale has ever had, in 2014, they are “over-dramatising” and “using shock tactics” designed to scare people into supporting an unnecessary £40 - 60 million new road, which, if built would cause devastation to the area’s ecology and local countryside and would be a blight on the iconic Brandy Brook valley through which the new road would pass.

Using professional consultants and a coastal geomorphology expert STUN has put forward an alternative low cost solution to counter any threat from the sea ‘that will protect Newgale for at least 85 to 100 years’.

This comes as AtkinsRéalis, the Canadian firm tasked with conducting the Public engagement for the road on behalf Pembrokeshire County Council are holding a 4 week statutory pre-Application public consultation which began on April 14 and will end on May 11, in which people must email or write in letters in order to register their views and objections to the proposed new road.

Large scale local Opposition

STUN has accused the Local Authority of “bulldozing ahead” with the expensive A487 Newgale bypass despite growing objections to the scheme from locals and businesses, many of whom have been quick to come out in opposition to the new road - and support for STUN’s alternative.

These include the Community Councils of Brawdy, Solva, Nolton and Roch which have begun writing formal letters of objection to the plans as well as politicians and local business owners including Paul Davies MS and Cllr Mark Carter.

Paul Davies, superimposed on Newgale scene (Google Street View)
Local Senedd Member Paul Davies affirmed his support for the ‘Stand up for Newgale’ campaign, stating; “STUN has designed an alternative Newgale Beach Access and Shingle Bank Realignment Scheme which is less invasive and would save the Council, and local taxpayers, huge amounts of money.” (Supplied / Google)

In a press statement on April 25th, local Senedd Member Paul Davies affirmed his support for the ‘Stand up for Newgale’ campaign, stating; “STUN has designed an alternative Newgale Beach Access and Shingle Bank Realignment Scheme which is less invasive and would save the Council, and local taxpayers, huge amounts of money.

“I am very disappointed that the Council is pushing ahead with its plans rather than working with the community on a much more affordable scheme. We know the Council is struggling financially and yet somehow, it’s content to find millions of pounds for a scheme that the local community opposes.”

There has also been widespread speculation locally questioning whether the proposed US military DARC Radar Array, which would involve the construction of 27 Deep Space Radars, each 21 meter tall at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy, above Newgale, could go ahead without the new road in place due to the high levels of lorry traffic DARC’s construction and operation would involve.

Many locals believe that the two projects are actually connected and that connection accounts for PCC/AtkinsRealis’ refusal to consider STUN’s low cost alternative.

Any such connection between the projects means that legally they must be submitted together as part of one planning application - something that would cause county planners further problems. There is also growing local opposition to the Radar proposal.

Questions of high costs

Asserting that the project would be a huge waste of public money a spokesperson for STUN said: “As a community campaign we have uncovered a plethora of reasons why this road must not go ahead. Pembrokeshire County Council has already spent over £4 million on consultants fees and their projected cost of the road has already risen above £40 million, our research shows it will be even higher, costing at least £60 million!

“At a time when we need to be rebuilding our public services surely this amount of money would be better spent on improvements to local schools, home care packages and Withybush Hospital.”

STUN's solution: Artist's impression of the Southern end of the relocated shingle bank, new wide pavement and Gabion core steps for access to the beach.
STUN's solution: Artist's impression of the Southern end of the relocated shingle bank, new wide pavement and Gabion core steps for access to the beach. (Pic supplied)

Damage to Environment, local business and Tourism

STUN claims that if the development went ahead it would destroy the local environment, saying: “If built, 6 farms would be divided or directly affected by the proposed route and campsite nature walks ruined. The construction phase would irreparably destroy wildlife and decimate the valley floor by use of heavy plant and machinery while creating a massive 120m long concrete bridge over the Brandy Brook valley.”

“Loss of vital local businesses, WC facilities, and the T11 bus service would take a heavy toll on the local economy and tourism. We have designed an affordable alternative plan which involves moving the shingle bank slightly seaward and which would avoid all of these troubling issues, however, PCC obstinately continues in a direction which would destroy Newgale forever with the devastating visual impact it would have on the iconic Brandy Brook valley within Britain’s only coastal National Park”

Adding: “Newgale is a jewel in the crown of our tourism rich peninsular, so why is there such determination to waste £60 million of taxpayers money on a completely unnecessary road which would only ever potentially benefit a US military base, and from which the ecology and wildlife of Brandy Brook could never recover?”

A bridge of destructive proportions

A technical representative from STUN explained in further detail the scale and impact of the bridge construction, with a spokesperson stating: “Based on the data we’ve looked at which was submitted in the Pre-planning application, the Bridge alone would be 120 meters long and 15m high in places, made up of 4 separate giant 30 meter concrete decks which would be mounted on over 100 concrete columns buried deep in the Brook below.

“The excavation for these columns would mean the removal of up to 3,000 tons of material from the piling alone and the removal of 800 tons for the construction of pile caps.”

“For the build phase of the bridge, two temporary roads requiring 12,000 tons of imported material would have to be constructed over an area up to 7,000 square meters on each side of the bridge across the Brook itself.”

“Digging such deep holes either side of a living watercourse would create considerable engineering challenges and a high probability of pollution.

“This has the potential to kill everything downstream of the bridge and the 12,000 tons of imported material would then need to be physically removed at the end of the 2 year construction of the bridge which would leave a large swathe of devastation.”

Misleading the public with ‘false facts’

STUN further claims that Pembrokeshire County Council and AtkinsRéalis have been using ‘false facts’ as justification for a new road by citing the infamous ‘bus incident’ which took place in 2014 thus conflating the supposed sea level rise impacts with what STUN says is the actual reality - “That the road floods occasionally due to the Brandy Brook outflow to the sea getting blocked with pebbles and not actually as a result of climate change or any rise in sea level at this time.”

Also asserting that the costs associated with removing pebbles from the road have been highly exaggerated. According to an FOI request to PCC, the 2014 storm event cost PCC approximately £13,000. Even if a 2014 type event happened every year - it would cost less to clear the road of pebbles every year for 3,000 years than to build the new road.

A spokesperson for STUN stated: “Something doesn’t add up. No further storm events of a similar nature have occurred since and it is not possible to predict when/if the next storm is likely to arrive, if ever. Why spend so much public money to solve a problem that doesn’t seem to exist?”

Call to Action

STUN told us that they are confident they can stop the road in its tracks by a variety of means and that public opinion will soon force the decision makers to ‘look again’ at their alternative plan. With this aim they have launched a Crowdfunder aimed at funding their alternative planning application.

STUN has urged anyone who shares their concerns over the proposed road to urgently email AtkinsRéalis at [email protected] before the consultation closes on May 11, and to copy their objection to STUN [email protected] or to send their objections by post to, 12 Orchard Street, Swansea, SA1 5AD, before the May 11 deadline.