"We have identified the need to respond to the Climate Emergency as a major priority."

These are the words of Councillor Neil Moore recently published in an open letter to Vale of Glamorgan residents and it brings hope to all the groups that have objected to the Council's proposal to build a new road from M4 to A48 through the much loved Ely Valley.

This clearly unpopular proposal has roused much opposition from a wide variety of groups who have fought to leave the valley untouched so that future generations from far and wide can enjoy the pleasures of the open countryside.

Cyclists, Coed Cymru, ramblers and nature protection groups have all spoken out to try and deter Vale Councillors and the Welsh Government from destroying a prized Special Landscape Area in the Vale.

The Climate Emergency has put pressure on all councils to review their operations and reduce their carbon footprint, improve air quality-recently accepted as instrumental in causing premature deaths such as that of nine- year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah and to value and nurture ancient woodlands and hedgerows to help our dwindling wildlife population.

A spokesperson for Vale Communities for Future Generations - a group that has been battling to save the Ely Valley from the Vale Council's road proposal for three years, said:

"That the leader of the Council has stepped forward and stated the Climate Emergency we all face is a major priority is of huge significance."

She added: " To create deadly air pollution, from a road designed for freight lorries, in an enclosed valley and within metres of Pendoylan's Primary school was never a good plan.

"Now it appears that Vale Councillors accept that the Climate Emergency means we do things differently and that future emphasis must be on safeguarding rather than destroying the green spaces that we all value so highly".