New-build residents complain of finding rubble in their gardens

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

Residents on a housing estate built just five years ago have complained about finding rubble on their lawns and back gardens after they moved in.

Tonnes of rubble including concrete, bricks, electrical wiring and steel rods, has already been removed from a patch of land at Scholars Park in Dinas Powys months after local councillors called on developers to inspect the land which could eventually be used as a public open space.

People living on the housing estate say they have also been finding rubble on their own land and have had to pay out of their own pockets to sort the issue.

Barratt, the developers behind Scholars Park, said its customer care team hasn’t received any complaints from residents about rubble in gardens, but has urged people to get in touch if they have any concerns.

Cost

“[It was] not very good at all,” said William Rhys about what his garden was like when he first moved in about four years ago.

William, 85, said the ground was a mess of slate, stones and clay with some grass and his efforts to get it sorted proved difficult.

“It was dreadful,” he added.

“I dug it up by hand, got a lot of stuff, took it away, dumped it down in the Vale dump and then I thought ‘right, I will turf it’.

“It was turfed and it looked fine when the job was finished. In fact, I had a chap in to do it.

“Then, come the autumn, the rain held on the turf, the turf more or less disappeared, I was left with patches… and I couldn’t do anything about that so I had to get rid of the turf.

“And then I had another chap out… we put probably about half a ton of topsoil, raked it, put grass seeds and this is the finished product as it is now.

“Fingers crossed, I am hoping it is going to be okay, but it did cost and I didn’t hear anything from Barratt.”

The cost of getting the garden re-turfed was about £300 and that is not including the cost of getting the lawn scarified, seeded and treated, which William said cost about £200.

Another resident, Lesley Burns, said she noticed something wasn’t right with the lawn in front of her property not long after she moved in following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“[You] try to plant a simple pot plant… as you can see, you put the fork in and it’s all rubble after about an inch.

“I have seen somebody down the bottom and they are completely re-doing them on their own budget.

“As soon as I tried to plant anything, which was pretty soon after I moved in… [and] a lot of plants that they [the developers] planted, they just died.”

Lesley said the issue has been “very frustrating”.

Plans for a 215 home estate on land formerly occupied by St Cyres Lower School on Murch Road were approved by Vale of Glamorgan Council in 2018.

Historic mapping shows that that the site was once farmland, with three farmsteads being demolished when St Cyres School was constructed in the 1970s.

St Cyres was itself knocked down after a demolition application was approved in 2013.

Concerns

Plaid Cymru Dinas Powys Community Council member, Cllr Malcolm Phillips, who has been calling on Barratt to inspect the soil at Scholars Park claims much of the rubble being unearthed on the field at the estate is material that was deposited there during development.

A spokesperson for Barratt Homes South Wales said the rubble was left over from the compound site and that the land will be immediately re-landscaped for use as public open space.

Cllr Phillips said: “I originally raised concerns about the condition of this land area when it was revealed that developers Barratt David Homes were giving the area to the local authority Vale of Glamorgan Council and eventually it would be given to Dinas Powys Community Council for use in the community.

“This would have meant that DPCC would eventually be totally responsible for it’s upkeep.

“Bits of rubble were visible on the surface and we then involved other councillors and eventually Vale of Glamorgan officers who arranged a site visit with the developers.

“The local authority having listened to me stating what I observed being buried in the ground during construction of the… properties on the site demanded investigations and test digs to be conducted.

“As a result of these test digs it confirmed my allegations of mass dumping of building work materials which led to the Vale of Glamorgan Council demanding the site be made suitable before hand over.”

Response

A Barratt Homes South Wales spokesperson said: “Our customer care team has not received any complaints from residents about rubble in their gardens but if anyone has any concerns they should contact our customer care team.

 “Some rubble was originally left over from the site compound but as agreed with Vale of Glamorgan Council a subcontractor recently carried out removal works and it is currently being re-landscaped for use as public open space.”