PRESSURE from local politicians and the public has led to the Welsh Government scrapping plans to remove the requirement to publish traffic notices in local newspapers.

In a lengthy public consultation just 12 per cent of respondents voted in favour of the plans with the Government itself admitting that the proposals would have left 'certain group's "disenfranchised."

Responding to the consultation, road users said that the local press was the only way they could keep up to date with changes to roads and said they were not always properly consulted about proposed orders, which could in some instances be a deliberate move by the local authority.

"The Welsh Government also accepts the concerns about the inconsistencies in approach change may bring from authority to authority and the potential difficulties authorities may encounter should they be required to demonstrate due process has been followed," the Welsh Government said in a summary of responses to the consultation.

"Consequently, on the balance of all responses the Welsh Government accepts the counter arguments that order making authorities should continue to have to place TRO notices in local newspapers for the time being.

"However, it is also of the view that there is potential scope for streamlining the content of TROs in the future while providing additional points of contact for further information. While reaching this conclusion the Welsh Government would still encourage the use of supplementary forms of publicity to maximise coverage."

Independent research conducted by Gfk NOP was cited in the Welsh Government's summary.

The research's findings included that 64 per cent of adults were concerned about the plans and just three per cent of the population used council websites to find such information.

More than 90 per cent of responses from Byway and Rights of Way users  to the Welsh Government's consultation opposed the plans with most saying that reading about traffic orders in local papers was the only way they found out about issues which affect them.

Following an approach from The Abergavenny Chronicle's editor Liz Davies, Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay, MP David Davies and the Welsh Assembly's Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler all expressed their support for the local media in Wales to government minister Carl Sergeant, saying they recognised the importance of a strong local press and the role it played in a 'growing democracy'.