Grace Brown and Irena Sabic, both of Garden Court, represented Gwent Wildlife Trust, Woodland Trust and the Campaign for Protection of Rural Wales at the public inquiry.
The Welsh government’s proposed M4 corridor (relief road) would have seen the construction of a 14-mile, six-lane stretch of motorway around Newport, south Wales. On Tuesday Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, announced that he was shelving the project on the grounds of cost and its environmental impact. He told the Guardian:
“I recognise the inspector’s conclusions. However, I attach greater weight than the inspector did to the adverse impacts that the project would have on the environment.
“In particular, I attach very significant weight to the fact that the project would have a substantial adverse impact on the Gwent Levels SSSIs [sites of special scientific interest] and their reen [drainage ditch] network and wildlife, and on other species, and a permanent adverse impact on the historic landscape of the Gwent Levels.”
This case has been widely reported including Guardian and BBC.
The decision of First Minister, Mark Drakeford is available here: RE: Various schemes and orders in relation to the M4 corridor around newport
Grace Brown and Irena Sabic are members of the Garden Court Chambers Public Law Team and Environmental Law Team.
