Cabinet Sub-Committee for North Wales meeting: 9 October 2025

• Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS
• Jack Sargeant MS (Chair)
• Huw Irranca-Davies MS
• Jane Hutt MS
• Jayne Bryant MS
• Julie James MS
• Mark Drakeford MS
• Rebecca Evans MS
• Jeremy Miles MS
• Dawn Bowden MS
• Sarah Murphy MS

Leaders of North Wales Local Authorities

• Cllr Jason McLellan, Denbighshire
• Cllr Mark Pritchard, Wrexham
• Cllr Dave Hughes, Flintshire

Other external attendees

• Mayor Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region
• Denise McQuade, Consul General in Wales, Irish Government
• Cillian O’Kelly, Consul General in England, Irish Government
• Dyfed Edwards, Chair BCUHB
• Prof. Edmund Burke, Vice-Chancellor Bangor University
• Prof. Joe Yates, Vice-Chancellor Wrexham University
• Aled Jones-Griffith, Chief Executive, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai
• Alwen Williams, Chief Executive, North Wales Corporate Committee
• Adam Graham, Senior Transport Officer, North Wales Corporate Committee
• Anthony McKenna, Director of Sponsorship and Commercial Programmes, Transport for Wales
• Robyn Macnamara, Network Rail
• Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester
• Dawn Docx, Chief Fire Officer, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service
• Caroline Street, DCEO People Experiences & Culture, Coleg Cambria
• Ceri Taylor, Transport for Wales
• Rob Holmes, Transport for Wales
• Cllr Lousie Gittins, Leader, Cheshire West and Chester Council
• Cllr Karen Shore, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, Cheshire West and Chester Council
• Andy Dunbobbin, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner
• Cllr Dylan Rees, Chair North Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Welsh Government officials

• Andrew Goodall, Permanent Secretary
• Rebecca Dunn, Head of Cabinet Division
• Tracey Burke, Director General, CCRA
• Sioned Evans, Director General, ECWL
• Emma Williams, Director General, ECWL
• Andrew Slade, Director General, EET
• Steven McGregor, Deputy Director North Wales
• Ceri Christian-Mullineux, Senior Regional Partnerships Manager - North Wales
• Peris Jones, Head of Capital Delivery, EET
• Carwyn Wycherley, Deputy Head of Cabinet Office
• Christopher W Morgan, Head of Cabinet Secretariat
• Damian Roche, Cabinet Secretariat (minutes)
• Michelle North-Jones, Regional Transport Lead for North Wales Transport Strategy & Policy, EET
• Gemma Thomas, Regional Transport Lead for North Wales, Transport Strategy & Policy, EET
• Jacqueline Totterdell, Health and Social Services
• Aled Jones, Cyfieithydd (Cymen)

Apologies

• Ken Skates MS
• Lynne Neagle MS
• Vicki Howells MS

1.1 The Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership welcomed attendees and indicated he would be Chairing the meeting, given the apologies from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales.

1.2 The meeting would focus on one of the First Minister’s 4 priorities: Better Transport, and its relevance to North Wales and communities in Ireland and across north-west England. The Chair welcomed representatives from those Regions and noted how discussion around partnership working and further strengthening those links was vital. Croeso pawb / welcome all.

1.3 The Chair invited the First Minister to provide some opening remarks, and the Sub-Committee noted the ongoing commitment to regular meetings with partners and the sensitivity that Welsh Government held towards complex issues across the North Wales area, due to its demographics and how it linked more naturally with cross-border areas both into Ireland and to the North West. The First Minister reiterated the ambitious proposals to deliver better transport, acknowledging there were always financing issues to address.

2.1 The Chair then turned to issues with the Menai Suspension Bridge, following the recent discovery of damage found to the bridge, and invited Peris Jones to provide an update on the latest position.

2.2 Work was ongoing directly with UK Highways A55 DBFO Ltd, to partially reopen the Menai Suspension Bridge to cars, motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians in the coming days, keeping safety as the paramount concern, to ensure the travelling public were kept safe.

2.3 The specific issue of damage to the bolts, which would require replacement on the critical beams under the bridge, had come to light as part of work undertaken by UK Highways A55 DBFO ltd investigations work for Phase 2 of the Menai Bridge.

2.4 The Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales had met over the previous weekend with UK Highways A55 DBFO Ltd, local Members of the Senedd and Parliament, and the Leader of Ynys Môn to understand the situation in full and provide an update.

2.5 In terms of improving the resilience of the Menai crossings, and particularly Britannia Bridge, the North Wales Transport Commission had made 16 recommendations to make improvements to junctions and carriageway alignments, introduction of wind deflectors to Britannia Bridge and enhancements for walking and cycling.

2.6 In terms of the resilience of the wider strategic road network in North Wales, the A55 and A494 formed a strategic East-West corridor linking to the north west of England and beyond. This route was the busiest in North Wales, carrying over 80,000 vehicles per day at peak times, and was a key element of the UK and European strategic road network that provided the main economic artery for North Wales.

2.7 A study was being progressed into the transport needs and resilience of the A55 and A494, with the aim to develop a robust, evidence-led and multi-modal understanding of transport challenges and opportunities along this corridor, and potential interventions to address them. The study would focus on safety, connectivity, resilience, accessibility, operational performance, climate resilience and supporting economic growth.

2.8 The A55, along with the A494, formed a key arterial route into North Wales and were vital for the movement of people and goods and supporting the economy. For this reason, progress was being made in delivering the River Dee Bridge replacement and a safety and resilience study along Aston Hill. The delivery of these schemes would help improve safety, the flow of traffic, resilience and reduce the volume of disruptive maintenance works required on the network.

2.9 The Sub-Committee welcomed the positive action being delivered in line with this priority area across the North Wales region and acknowledged the impact the closure of the Menai crossing had on the area.

3.1 The Chair invited Alwen Williams, Chief Executive of Ambition North Wales, the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee, to provide an update on the North Wales Regional Transport Plan (NWRTP).

3.2 The presentation covered the case for change, and how the different strands for delivery could work together to deliver the vision of North Wales having a safe, sustainable, affordable, resilient, and effective integrated transport network that supported economic growth, prosperity for all, inclusivity and well-being.

3.3 The objectives of the plan included:

• improved digital connectivity and local services
• improved local accessibility and transport choice
• enabling sustainable economic growth
• enabling decarbonisation through transition to a zero-emission fleet.

3.4 Consultation on the plan had run from 20 January to 14 April that year, with a total of 1,684 responses received. There was 67% who either supported or strongly supported the NWRTP vision and objectives, with 61% supporting or strongly supporting the policies and interventions proposed.

3.5 The aspirations for rail and road were set out, alongside the policies to deliver improvements for bus, walking, wheeling and cycling. The goal was to provide people in the area with a choice around jobs, education and services and how to access them. Allied to this was providing for a vibrant and sustainable visitor economy, and ensuring coach, demand responsive transport such as the fflecsi pilots and community transport were part of considerations.

3.6 The work on a Regional Transport Delivery Plan included over 240 schemes that would help achieve the vision for the NWRTP over the coming years, and this was set against the work to provide suitable funding to progress year 1 schemes.

3.7 Next steps would be to submit year 1 schemes to the Welsh Government for agreement, with a view to local authorities beginning delivery from April next year.

3.8 Regional Transport Plans would provide a strategic plan for improving transport in each region of Wales and would join up working at a regional level.

3.9 Partnership working between Transport for Wales and Welsh Government was key, and a further £200,000 of funding had been provided to each CJC this financial year towards their work on transport.

3.10 The Programme for Government committed to modernise Welsh Government’s transport grants, and Welsh Government was working to combine the current set of local transport grants into a source of funding for RTPs and devolve decision making on where funding would be spent to CJCs. This year, the Welsh Government had allocated around £110 million to local authorities through local transport grants. Modernising these grants would ensure funding could be targeted at the priorities in each region.

3.11 These new arrangements would be in place for the 2026-2027 financial year, once RTPs had been finalised and were in place.

3.12 In addition, the Welsh Government had awarded local authorities in North Wales more than £30 million funding in 2025-2026, to invest in transport priorities across the region. This included the continuation of vital bus pilot schemes in Denbighshire and Gwynedd, including the T8 service and Sherpa’r Wyddfa, providing rural communities with better access to employment, services and facilities; completion of the remaining works to restore the missing section of the B5605 at Gelli Wood, Newbridge, which was damaged during a landslip after storm Christoph in January 2021 and proposed road safety improvements to the A548 between Llangernyw and Abergele.

3.13 Passengers across North Wales were starting to benefit from the £800 million investment in new train fleet, with more reliable and comfortable trains available for passengers.

3.14 The Welsh Government’s bus franchising plans would reform the way buses operated in North Wales and would allow work in partnership with local authorities to develop a new bus network for the region.

3.15 The Sub-Committee welcomed the work done to drive forwards the train frequency through Chester train station, although there was further work to do in consultation with the UK government about the station itself, which needed to be upgraded.

3.16 Similarly, positive impacts were noted by staff and patients across the Betsi Cadwaladr LHB area, and improvements would help address the inequalities around access to transport for those in education and training.

3.17 Connectivity over the Irish Sea was vital, with a useful information exchange continuing between administrations, with timely communications being particularly useful. Bilaterals between officials would continue and the close partnership between Ireland and Wales was welcomed.

3.18 Local collaboration would be vital with the advent of further devolution to regions, and there would always be a case for better transport links between cross-border areas, with a significant number of these journeys undertaken by road, both for work and leisure purposes. This could increase opportunities for sustainable tourism and to address the climate emergency. Work to cap public transport costs for the young would be important as is providing access to job and training opportunities.

3.19 The point was made that, whilst the NWRTP was welcomed, it would be important to consider a wider picture than only the main roads and main routes, ensuring rural areas were considered and how the wider smaller route connectivity and accessibility was taken forward. The resilience of the Menai crossing was also noted as critical for young people to have unrestricted access to education experiences either side of the straits.

3.20 The Minister thanked partners for their continued commitment to cooperation across the region to deliver on the NWRTP.

4.1 The Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership noted that Network North Wales was the shared ambitious plan to deliver an integrated, high-frequency public transport network for North Wales. At its heart would be the North Wales Metro service, with a cross-border approach being taken to transform public transport in the Mersey-Dee area, including metro style services on the North Wales mainline and a new, direct rail link between Wrexham and Liverpool. The Network would aim to maximise opportunity and unlock the economic potential of North Wales and the cross-border region.

4.2 The Chair invited Anthony McKenna from Transport for Wales and Robyn Macnamara from Network Rail to provide a presentation to the Sub-Committee on progress.

4.3 Network North Wales (NNW) was focused on three key objectives, namely unlocking prosperity, creating jobs and linking communities through public transport. This would be a distinct and enduring vision for the public transport network in North Wales, and it would be delivered by working together with the public, private, and tertiary sectors of the region to make the shared vision a reality for Wales and the borders.

4.4 Network North Wales was based on a long-term vision, but delivery had already begun, with the programme backed by a plan which covered short-, medium- and longer-term goals, to 2035 and beyond.

4.5 Programme governance would include an aligned vision, joint governance and efficient use of resources between TfW and Network Rail, Regional Bodies and Ambition North Wales, and cross-border collaboration. The programme is overseen by the Network North Wales Board, which is chaired by the CSTNW. The Board includes TfW and Network Rail, along with Ambition North Wales, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire West and Chester Council and the Department of Transport.

4.6 Programme delivery to date includes new improvements to Flint railway station opened by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales in October 2025; station improvements being delivered now on the Wrexham-Bidston line, the opening of the Holyhead Wheel lathe and the new T51 bus service between Rhyl and Wrexham launched in September 2025.

4.7 The frequency of trains between Wrexham and Chester are doubling from December 2025, services on the North Wales Main Line are increasing by 50% in May 2026 and Pay-as-You Go tap-in tap-out technology is coming to North East Wales in 2026. The long-term vision includes direct metro services between Wrexham and Liverpool; enhancing capacity at Chester station to allow more services to North Wales; developing plans to use the latest technology to decarbonise the railway in North Wales; examining options to re-open stations and build new stations to serve employment growth areas.

4.8 The move to 2 trains per hour on the Wrexham to Liverpool via Bidston line was welcomed, but there was a suggestion the aspiration for 4 trains per hour should be brought forward from the current planning estimate of 2035.

4.9 The Sub-Committee welcomed the Welsh Government’s already committed additional investment of over £13 million this financial year to begin delivery immediately. In addition, the UK government had committed, through the Comprehensive Spending Review, to deliver improvement works at Padeswood to enable better services between Wrexham and Liverpool.

4.10 The point was made that, taken together, the North Wales and borders regions had a population two thirds the size of London, and connecting those areas would be very powerful to deliver improved prosperity. Further devolution presented opportunities for rail reform, and it would be vital that collective voices were heard to maximise investment in the region. Thanks were offered to the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region for the work on the Mersey links and the Consul General in Wales for Ireland.

The Chair thanked members of the Cabinet, the Civic Leaders of North Wales and colleagues from Ireland and north-west England for the useful discussion and noted that continued joint working would help contribute to the delivery of the First Minister’s priorities in North Wales for the benefit of the people of North Wales and beyond.

Cabinet Secretariat
October 2025