The 50-year dream of Llandeilo residents looks set to finally become a reality after the Welsh Government announced it planned to begin work of the town's long-awaited by-pass within five years.

The by-pass scheme has been included in the National Transport Plan, which lays out proposals for major road schemes in Wales over the next 30 years.

The plan details project which are set to begin in the next five, ten and 30 years, with the Llandeilo road included in the first tranche of projects.

Carmarthenshire County Council Leader Kevin Madge welcomed the announcement, stating that the bypass would prove a massive economic benefit for Llandeilo, the Towy Valley and the wider area.

“I am absolutely over the moon,” said Mr Madge.

“This is fantastic news for the people of Llandeilo.

“We have already planned the route and hopefully we will be able to get work underway within the next two or three years.”

However, the announcement has been met with caution in some quarters as the National Transport Plan is the third such document to have been produced by the Welsh Government in the past five years.

The plan also states that the bypass could be started in 2019 despite the county council announcing in May this year that it expect work to begin in earnest on the project in 2016.

County Councillor for Llandeilo and Dyffryn Cennen, Edward Thomas, said: “While I welcome the news the Llandeilo bypass is still on the minister's agenda, and still programmed within the Draft Transport Plan, there is still a long way to go.

“In the mean time the old and young are suffering from the high pollution levels in the centre, and traffic snarl-ups in the town are still a regular occurrence.

Pollution testing was carried out in Rhosmaen Street – the town's main thoroughfare – in 2012 and readings showed toxin levels far in excess of EU limits.

Calum Higgins, Welsh Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, has welcomed the inclusion of the bypass in the plan, which will now go for consultation.

“The draft plan recognises the importance of the bypass to the economic development of west Wales and the benefit to local people who have lived with the congestion in Llandeilo for so many years,” said Mr Higgins.

“The important thing to do now is to make sure it remains a firm priority in the final plan following the public consultation.”

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards recently questioned the Welsh Government’s commitment to a bypass following the publication of figures which showed the Labour government in Cardiff Bay had not budgeted a penny for road investment in Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Ceredigion.

“In recent years my party has recommended innovative funding streams, such as our 2011 ‘Build4Wales’ model, as a way in which the Llandeilo bypass could be financed.

“Given that the Labour Government has committed to spending almost one billion pounds for a few miles around the M4 in Newport, our proposals for alternative financing are even more pertinent.

“I sincerely hope the Welsh Government will now look at those options so that we can see the bypass delivered once and for all.”

AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas also greeted the news with caution.

“It was only in May this year that the county council announced the start date for the bypass would be in 2016, but the Welsh Government now says it could be up to 2019,” said Mr Thomas.

“The bypass in the draft national transport plan is welcome, but this is the third transport plan the Welsh Government has produced in just five years.

“We’ve been in this position several times before, so I will give it a cautious welcome for now.”