£200m A55 and A494 Deeside red road preferred by council

A recommendation on a preferred new road in Flintshire has been made, as part of £200m of improvements to the North Wales Expressway.

Flintshire councillors said they preferred the red route on Friday.

The proposed investment aims to tackle congestion on the A494 and A55 around Queensferry and Deeside.

The Welsh Government said the upgrade was needed as the road was "below modern standards" but it has faced opposition from residents.

Two proposals were put forward - to either improve the existing A55 and A494 or upgrade the A548 over Flintshire Bridge between Connah's Quay and The Wirral and construct a new link to the A55 at Northop.

Resident Jennifer Hume, from Oakenholt, fears the red route would impact on her farm and B&B, which she has been running for 31 years.

She has already faced compulsory purchase on her land six times.

"It will decimate us at the end of the day," she said.

"The business has been doing brilliantly, people say it's so quiet here. All they hear is the birds when they wake up and they're really happy.

"What am I going to do now when they open the window and all they hear is juggernauts flying across the embankment which is going to be at least three metres high in front of us?"

Ms Hume claims the red route would simply see current congestion near the border moved to the Flint and Mold area.

"We have problems going through Flint, we have problems at Northop... it will only make the situation worse," she added.

"It's ridiculous what they're trying to do, trying to impose a red route or a blue route, neither of which are going to solve the problem."

The council's environment overview and scrutiny committee decided to recommend the red route to cabinet members, saying it would be the "most beneficial route" for a range of reasons - including improving "economic and social connectivity".

A final decision will be taken by the Welsh Government, which hopes to make an announcement in the summer.