Island top brass reject claims of withholding facts over estate contamination tests
A COUNCIL has denied suggestions that officials hid prior knowledge of possible contamination beneath an Anglesey housing estate.
Earlier this month, the local authority announced it will carry out garden soil sample studies at the Craig y Don Estate in Amlwch to check for contamination in an area used for smelting copper more than two centuries ago.
But some members of the town council have been critical of the county council’s response, questioning how long officers have been aware of the potential for health risks for residents.
Cllr Myrddin Owens told this week’s meeting of Amlwch Town Council: “It’s disgraceful if council officers knew full well there was even a possibility of contamination at Craig y Don, yet only told residents and councillors two weeks ago.
“If officers have sat on this information, then it’s disgraceful, as they have a responsibility to residents first and foremost, be they council tenants or not.
“I know the Assembly grant funding has now come through for the tests, but surely money should be no object.”
Cllr Gareth Winston Roberts responded: “Let’s just hope the tests turn out to be negative. We should find out in March.
“But this is a serious situation. People have been born, lived and died here over the years.
“As a town council, we certainly weren’t aware there were concerns over possible contamination, although its former use is common knowledge.”
A spokesman for the county council said there was no evidence to suggest any contamination, and that the authority applied for Welsh Government funding to carry out the tests due to knowledge of the site’s history.
“All we have to go on at the moment is the history of the site and its former uses as a copper smelter and chemical works,” said the spokesman. “We have absolutely no evidence to suggest any contamination beneath Craig y Don, but we must make sure. We recently made a successful bid for Welsh Government funding to carry out this work, and the residents of Craig y Don will be kept informed throughout.
“This will include forming a resi- dents’ group to keep in touch with those living on the estate.
“Our officers, together with the support of local county councillors, are doing their utmost to support residents.
“Any assertion that this matter has been hidden in any way is unfair and incorrect.”
In the 19th century Amlwch became the world’s primary copper producer from the Parys Mountain mine.
Before Craig y Don was built in the early 1950s, the site was often called “Gwaith Hills” (Hill’s Works): the Hill’s Chemical Works made fertilizers there from around 1889. However, from around 1786, the site was also used for smelting copper.