The Case for Change for the Regional Transport Plan for South West Wales

We are currently running a public consultation on the development of a new Regional Transport Plan (RTP) for South West Wales.

To have your say please complete our online survey below by Monday 26 August:

What is the Regional Transport Plan?

The new RTP is being prepared by the Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) for the South West Wales region, a new body for local government in the region. It will guide the way the regional transport network across Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea is managed and improved over period 2025 - 2030. Once adopted the new RTP will replace the existing Joint Local Transport Plan which was prepared in 2015. 

The new RTP will set out how national policy, as set out by Welsh Government in the Llwybr Newydd: the Wales Transport Strategy, will be delivered in our region. It is an opportunity to develop regional transport policies and identify interventions that will improve how people travel and how goods are transported, while addressing the particular needs of Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. 

It will consider what we need to do to help reduce the need to travel, allow people and goods to move easily from door to door and encourage everyone to make smarter travel choices, whilst also acknowledging the specific needs of our region, including recognising that our rural areas have very different needs to our towns and cities. Importantly it will also look at how the transport network can best support economic growth and support a move towards a zero-emission transport system.

The Regional Transport Plan will be aligned with the South West Wales CJC’s vision of a place where the Welsh language is thriving, with a transport system that supports the Welsh language (well-being objective 2). In line with the Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) carried out on the Corporate Plan, we will assess how the Regional Transport Plan will benefit culture and the Welsh language and will carry out a Welsh language impact assessment. We will also consider the Welsh language from a policy point of view and welcome your input.

We invite you to answer a series of questions on how the Welsh language can influence the development of the Regional Transport Plan and what effects the Regional Transport Plan would have on the Welsh language.

What stage is the RTP currently at?

We are in the early stages of preparing the RTP. We recently produced our ‘Case for Change’ which sets out our understanding of the current opportunities, problems and future challenges on the transport network and explains why something needs to be done about these. It also sets out a vision for a better transport network. This early work is important to ensure the new RTP has a firm foundation and addresses the right issues.

To read more about this stage of the RTP development process, you can download the full Case for Change report (or see below for details of where this can be viewed as a paper copy).

This work has highlighted that the current transport network does not adequately serve the communities and businesses of the region. For example, our rural areas remain very dependent on the car, public transport provision in some areas is still poor; walking and cycling, whilst increasing, is not practical everywhere; our road network is constrained; tourism brings specific seasonal transport pressures; and the movement of freight impacts our communities. Overall, the current transport network can limit access to employment, contribute to poor health, create negative environmental impacts and can contribute to social exclusion. 

Over the next few years, new development, including huge opportunities arising from investments in Swansea Bay and at the ports of Milford Haven and Port Talbot, evolving travel patterns and new technologies will all be important to address.

How can I have my say?

This consultation, which is at the start of the RTP process, is your chance to help ensure the Plan is focussed on the right regional issues. We would like to hear which of the issues we have identified in our early work are the most important to you, (as well as check if we’ve missed any key issues) and understand how these affect you, or your business/organisation. 

To have your say, please read the information provided and then fill in the online survey. Alternatively, you can send an email to regional.transport@swansea.gov.uk.

There will be another consultation, where everyone will get a chance to review a draft of the emerging RTP and its supporting documents and make comments, in late 2024.

Paper copies

Paper copies of the feedback form and consultation materials are available at: