Over £7m awarded for Llanbedr Airfield access road

The Welsh Government has committed further funding of over £7m towards the construction of a new Llanbedr access road in Gwynedd, Economy and North Wales Minister Ken Skates has announced. 

The funding will deliver improved access to the Snowdonia Aerospace centre at Llanbedr airfield.  Improving access from the A496 at Llanbedr has been identified by the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone as a key infrastructure project to realise the area’s economic potential.

Current access to the airfield is through the village itself on a narrow road which can be a bottleneck.  As well as improving access to the airfield it will also benefit villagers by removing the traffic bound for the airfield.  The reduction in through traffic will also improve amenity for pedestrians and cyclists.

The scheme will be delivered by Gwynedd Council.  £7.5m ERDF funding is also being made available to the council towards the construction of the spur to the airfield and the provision of business units on the airfield site.

The access road will make the site more attractive for other businesses to base themselves at the airfield, and the construction will bring economic benefits locally.

Ken Skates said: “I’m pleased to announce that we are able to commit £7.38m to the Llanbedr Access road, which will now allow the scheme to progress.  It has been identified by the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone as a key development to maximise the economic potential of the airfield and Snowdonia Aerospace Centre.

“There will be job opportunities and a boost for the local economy during construction and the access road itself will further increase the attractiveness of the site to bring more businesses to the area, and reduce congestion in the village of Llanbedr.  It will form part of our plans for the recovery following the covid-19 pandemic.”

Gwynedd Council Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn said: “We are grateful to the Welsh Government for confirming this funding, which will allow us to move forward in the realisation of this critical scheme. The development of key sites to enable high quality job creation is more important than ever in light of the economic impact which our communities are suffering because of the Covid crisis, and the completion of this work will have a significant positive impact in attracting quality businesses to Snowdonia Aerospace Centre. The ability to lessen the traffic congestion which has blighted this community for decades is equally important to us, and we look forward to progressing this vital work.”