A long-awaited road scheme at the gateway to Pembrokeshire has been 'snatched away' by the Welsh Government's plans to freeze all major road projects.

Work was due to start this summer on the £35million Llanddewi Velfrey by-pass,but this has now been scuppered following the recent announcement.

Traffic schemes throughout the Principality are being put on hold in a bid to cut the country's vehicle emissions, on which it is targeted to be zero by 2050.

Deputy minister for climate change, Lee Waters, announced in the Senedd on Tuesday, June 22, that the projects would stop whilst a review of highway schemes across Wales is carried out.

He said: “We need a shift away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive and spend more money on maintaining our roads and investing in real alternatives that give people a meaningful choice.”

Local MP Simon Hart said: “I cannot believe that Llanddewi Velfrey by-pass has once again been snatched away from residents.

"This road is vital for the safety of the village and we have been campaigning for it for more than a decade.

“It was only months away from a start date in 2018 when the contractor went bankrupt. After a lengthy delay, work was due to start again this summer.

"The local Labour councillor and Labour MS for the region welcomed the news that it was going ahead and highlighted how vital its improvement is for economic prosperity and safety.

"Now the Welsh Government has called a halt to all road projects, so I presume they will now be lobbying their government to change its mind and let it go ahead without even further delay.”

Announcing the halt, Lee Waters added: “Since 1990, Welsh emissions have fallen by 31 per cent. But to reach our statutory target of net zero emissions by 2050, we need to do much more.

"In the next ten years, we are going to need to more than double all the cuts we have managed over the last 30 years, if we are going keep temperature rises within safe limits. That means changes in all parts of our lives. Transport makes up some 17 per cent of our total emissions and so must play its part.

"The full terms of reference for the review will be published in due course. However, the review is expected to consider how spending can be shifted towards better maintaining existing roads, rather than building new ones, and look at all proposed road investments, whether funded directly by the Welsh Government or indirectly by grants.

The membership of the external panel which will carry out the review will be announced at a later date.

"The panel will be asked to consider setting tests for when new roads are the right solutions for transport problems in line with Llwybr Newydd, the recently-published Wales Transport Strategy."