More than 100 residents protest over unauthorised waste and traveller sites

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

More than 100 residents have protested over what they claim is a lack of action over two unauthorised waste dumps and a traveller’s site in their communities.

The residents branded Natural Resources Wales ‘rubbish’ and called for planning reform to prevent retrospective applications being made after two sites – on Old Smelt Road/Nant Lais and Castle Road – were turned into unauthorised waste sites.

One of the fields on Old Smelt Road has also over the bank holiday weekend been taken over by travellers pitching up without permission.

Disgruntled residents gathered at the Guildhall to demand action from Wrexham County Borough Council’s Planning Department and to call for legislative changes to protect communities.

“I want to see a stop on retrospective planning permission,” said Coedpoeth Community Councillor Jason Lewis. “Planning legislation needs to change so that if someone does begin work before submitting a planning application and damages the environment, they are immediately stopped, the land is immediately restored and their right to submit a planning application is removed.

“They are causing so much damage. People who do the right thing have to get environmental reports – it’s expensive but it ensures that their development does not do harm to the environment.

“The people who do this are doing a lot of harm.”

Many taking part in the protest did not wish to be named.

Intimated 

One lady said: “I feel intimidated. Overnight 20 trucks came through the village and started dumping waste, then came the caravans.

“There are too many people on these sites you don’t feel safe approaching them and challenging them. We just want to live peacefully but they have come in and destroyed that and no-one is doing anything about it.”

Another resident said that the fields on Old Smelt Road – which cover former mining land – are known to be contaminated land historically with residents now concerned the activity will disturb those contaminants.

“It was previously a lead mine,” she said. “That’s why no permission has ever been granted for houses.

“But polluting it more with unregulated waste and moving people onto the land to live could be harmful to the community.

“We have to abide by the law and if we don’t, we suffer the consequences. Why is it different for the people behind this situation? It seems like one rule for them, another for us.”

Those concerns were shared by Coedpoeth Cllr Anthony Wedlake who said: “Disturbing that land and dumping more waste on – with a very strong diesel-like smell – could cause serious environmental harm.

“Water run-off from that land goes straight into the River Clywedog. A stop notice has been posted by NRW but the dumping has continued.”

Not fit for purpose

Earlier, addressing the protesters, Cllr Wedlake said: “We have three clear messages.

“The first is to Natural Resources Wales – you’re not working hard enough to protect our environment or the lives of our residents.

“They (NRW) have quite sweeping powers which they are not exercising on a timely basis – and when they do they don’t tell us what they are doing. There’s a sign there – NRW is rubbish – and it’s not fit for purpose.

“The second message is this, we understand our planning rules are limited and can only be implemented reactively – but this issue is now systemic.

“Handling one-off issues of illegal settlements and illegal use of land is one thing, but when it becomes systemic then we need to have a systemic approach.

“If an authority in England can clear an illegal settlement in three days then so can councils in this area.”

He added that he would like to see a cross-county North Wales partnership to tackle illegal traveller sites and waste dumps – with authorities pooling their resources to fund a more robust enforcement team.

“We know there are funding issues,” he said. “But this is a problem that all councils face. Perhaps by working together we can take action swiftly, getting the legal orders we need faster and preventing these situations before any damage occurs.”

A meeting is due to be held at Coedpoeth Village Hall this evening at 6pm with representatives from Wrexham Council, NRW and North Wales Police expected to attend.

Response

A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales said: “We are aware of ongoing deposits at a site in Coedpoeth and are taking this matter seriously.

“Our officers first attended the site in June to assess the situation and gather evidence. Since then, further site visits have taken place and an enforcement notice has been issued to remove the waste from the site.

“We are currently investigating ongoing deposits at a site on Old Smelt Road, Minera. On Friday 28 August, one of our officers attended the site shortly after the report was received to assess the situation and gather initial evidence.

“Further site visits have been conducted as part of our ongoing investigation. Should any offences be identified, we will take the appropriate regulatory action.

“We are working closely with Wrexham County Borough Council, as the Castle Road matter falls within the regulatory responsibilities of both organisations and the Old Smelt Road matter may also.

“If you need to report an environmental incident or pollution event, please use our online reporting form or contact our 24-hour Incident Communications Centre on 0300 065 3000.”

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