Further meeting over ‘ghastly’ Bannau fence planned

Twm Owen Local Democracy Reporter

A further meeting to discuss a two metre tall steel fence put up at a Bannau Brycheiniog beauty spot has been arranged amid concerns over rare nesting peregrine falcons. 

Villagers in Clydach faced councillors and officials in a heated meeting before Easter to demand answers over how the 200 metre long fence, that is intended to prevent access to an unstable road, was put up across a mountain overlooking their village in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. 

Monmouthshire County Council apologised for a lack of communication before putting the fence up in early April which it described as a temporary, nine month, solution and agreed it could pull it down earlier if an alternative could be found. They also said they could consider reducing its height and painting it a darker colour.

Rare bird concerns

Council chiefs insisted action was required to prevent people accessing Pwll Du Road, on Gilwern Mountain, which has been subject to a temporary closure for the past five years due to rockfalls putting it at risk of collapse. 

Councillor Simon Howarth, who represents Llanelly Hill, including Clydach, said an overwhelming majority of local residents want the fence removed and do not think it would have been allowed in other locations. 

“Ninety-nine point nine per cent want the fence removing,” claimed Cllr Howarth: “If the scenario was on Pen y Fan, Sugar Loaf, Blorenge, Skenfrith or the Black Mountains would they have considered putting up a palisade fence 250m in length? Off course they wouldn’t. 

“It’s ghastly and it is out of keeping and a total abuse of the countryside. It’s something you would put in a town or city in an industrial estate.” 

Cllr Howarth also described the sharp, pointed fencing as in “totally bad taste” while at the recent public meeting residents raised concerns it could pose a danger to wildlife including peregrine falcons that nest in the former quarry on the mountain.  

The next meeting, where council officials will update members of the public on the proposals, will be held at Clydach Village Hall on Monday, May 19 at 6.30pm. It was originally proposed to hold the meeting on May 14.