Fresh calls have been made for urgent action to be taken in a bid to end a long-running nightmare which has left residents in one part of Newport trapped for nearly 5 years.
Residents living in Forge Mews have been left stranded since the Old Bassaleg Bridge shut down in August 2021.
Since then, Newport City Council has failed to deliver a solution, leaving locals in unacceptable limbo.
Residents are unable to get their cars anywhere near their properties, meaning they are having to lug shopping a considerable distance to their homes.
Not only that, but there have been several serious emergencies on the street, including a devastating fire, with 999 services unable to properly access the site.
The residents living in the fire-damaged property still haven’t been able to replace their kitchen as workmen cannot access the site.
Plans have been drawn up by the city council for a replacement bridge to be built and the old one demolished, but funding - expected to be upwards of £10m - has not been provided.
Now a local resident, who is a structural engineer, has put forward an alternative plan which would utilise the now-closed bridge and cost a fraction of the price at around £2m
However, the local authority is yet to make a decision over the new plan.
Natasha Asghar MS, who has long called for a solution to be found, met with Forge Mews residents recently to discuss the ongoing fiasco and new planning application.
During meeting residents aired their frustration at the lack of progress being made and told the Welsh Conservative politician about the major impact this is having on their lives.
Commenting after the meeting, Natasha Asghar MS, who represents Newport and Islwyn, said:
“Residents in Forge Mews are quite understandably angry and frustrated at the lack of action in ending this long-running nightmare, and I cannot blame them at all.
“All of this has taken a huge toll on them, and they have been treated appallingly as they wait for a glimmer of hope to be able to get their normal way of life back.
“They feel abandoned and forgotten about, and that’s not on at all.
“With two planning applications on the table, Newport City Council needs to stop the dither and delay and get on with finding a long-term solution.
“I will continue to work with residents in Forge Mews until this shocking situation has been resolved.”
Natasha has written to Newport City Council demanding an urgent update on the situation and has also called for the local authority to support residents in the short-term by giving them council tax reductions and dedicated parking spaces on the other side of the bridge.
