WELSH Environment Minister Sue Essex is facing a demand to build the M4 relief road on the redundant Llanwern steelworks site to protect the environment.

The Argus revealed last week that She is expected to make an announcement about building the relief road before Christmas.

And Alan Howarth, (pictured) MP for Newport East, has now said that routing the road through the giant steel site would make sense because it was already heavily polluted.

But his suggestion, which he is to make to the minister, will displease steelmaker Corus. Mr Howarth admitted: "I want to get maximum development value for the site. But it is already polluted and I believe a significant section should be used."

Mr Howarth said Newport could not recover speedily from the bombshell blow of ending steelmaking at Llanwern unless the M4 relief road went ahead.

The M4 relief road would stretch from Magor to Castleton and has been estimated to cost around £340 million. It is one of a number of ideas being considered by development experts as they put the finishing touches to their report on the future of the South-East Wales area.

One of the major arguments against a second M4 has been the damage it would do to the environmentally sensitive Gwent Levels. But by re-routing it across the steel site, such problems would largely be avoided.

Mr Howarth, treading a line that is becoming a familiar one among supporters of the road, said it would bring benefits to South-West Wales as well as South-East Wales. "Clearly it would be expensive but it must be seen as an investment. It is also needed for safety reasons, overcrowded motorways are dangerous."

That overcrowding is reaching critical status. The survey done in 1997 showed that the volume of traffic was running at 98% capacity through the Brynglas tunnels. Predictions of increased traffic show that by 2020 the whole road, from the Coldra to Castleton, would be at over 100%.

It is already the busiest stretch of road in Wales and a safety blackspot. That is why officials insist that something must be done - either building the new road, or alternative measures.