Relief in sight for village blighted by the smell of raw sewage for ten months

Richard Evans, local democracy reporter

People living in a village left stinking due to a hotel not having proper sewage connectivity have been told it should be dealt with this spring.

The Hilton Garden Inn in Dolgarrog opened in 2021, but villagers have had their lives blighted by the smell of raw sewage for ten months.

Despite receiving planning permission, a land-access issue has meant Welsh Water has not been able to connect the hotel’s main sewage line.

Consequently, tankers visit the hotel twice a day to pump away sewage from the four-star hotel, causing a nasty smell.

Access

But Welsh Water now says it has finally been granted access to the land and work has begun.

A spokesman for Welsh Water said: “As planned, we are on site undertaking the work needed to connect the hotel to our sewage system.

“We anticipate the work will be completed later this spring, and once complete the hotel will no longer need to remove waste using tankers.”

Last week Cllr Goronwy Edwards revealed he had reported the matter to the council’s environmental enforcement department.

A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council confirmed the council officers were monitoring the situation.

“There is an outstanding application that relates to the proposed drainage scheme,” she said.

“The developer and Dŵr Cymru (Welsh Water) are in negotiation to seek to resolve matters and planning officers are awaiting updates to be able to progress.”

Adventure Park Snowdonia runs the hotel. On Friday the company’s managing director Andrew Baker said paying for tankers had cost the company around £300,000, but Mr Baker said he sympathised with residents.

He said: “From the business point of view, it is affecting greatly the business, but also, it is straining our relationship with the community, which we are part of.

“It’s something we don’t want, and it is costing us, so it’s a double-edged sword.

“Whether I’ve become immune to the smell, I don’t know. I don’t get a bad smell, but I’m not standing outside when the tanker is visiting every day, and you will get an odour when the lid is off and it is pumping out.”