Council says planned road changes could take a year to implement

Plans to shut off an access to a development near the M4 in Monmouthshire could take more than a year to implement.

As part of plans to build 266 homes at Rockfield Farm in Undy, bollards will be placed between The Elms and Rockfield Grove to block off the access.

The development is being built in two phases – the first phase comprising of 144 homes was granted permission by Monmouthshire council in February 2019 and earlier this year an application was lodged for the second phase, which will see an additional 122 homes built.

However, an objection to the latest plans raised concerns that The Elms still allows through traffic to Rockfield Grove and questioned when the changes would take place.

The objection says: “We are now led to believe that this will not be happening prior to the new houses on the Elms being occupied and there are major concerns that both construction vehicles and the new estate residents will use Rockfield Grove for access. 

“This will increase noise, congestion, disruption and risks to the existing residents of Rockfield Grove.” 

The objector says the planning department told them that Elms Road would be obstructed to through traffic via the installation of bollards to the south-west of plot 47.

The lane to the north of the bollards would be used to access some of the proposed houses on the site – there would be no through vehicle traffic onto Rockfield Grove. 

But the council has said it could be another year before this happens.

A council spokesman said: “The works to prohibit traffic at this location has to be delayed until such time that the council formally adopts the internal development estate roads as public highway.

“When the Council adopts the new estate roads on the development site then the ‘closure’ works may be completed as all traffic can then be diverted onto the newly adopted estate roads which lead back onto The Elms.  

“Unfortunately we cannot provide an exact timescale as to when the estate roads will be adopted however it is likely to be a minimum 12 months.”