End of the road ... where homes await demolition
AT FIRST glance it could be a row of terraced houses like any other in the valleys.
A stone’s throw from the site of the Merthyr Vale Colliery, some residents have their recycling out for collection, others have their curtains drawn against the cold.
Nearby a rainbow-coloured ribbon is tied to a drain pipe in a throwback to the massive fundraising effort to raise money for Merthyr cancer survivor little Mia Chambers.
On closer inspection though Crescent and Taff Street in Merthyr Vale are not like anything you’ve ever seen. Windows have been smashed and doors boarded up where lights should be shining out.
Cracks are appearing in some of the walls, while through the gaping garden fences furniture has been left to stand against the elements.
This is the road that has been left to rot after being declared too dangerous to live in.
Last Wednesday Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council decided to carry out a compulsory purchase order to buy and demolish the two streets due to the risk of flooding from the River Taff flowing metres away.
At the meeting it was said that of the 100-odd houses of the street, only six were left to be acquired by the council, with terms agreed for three of them.
So far 52 of the houses have been bought by the council, with 54 in the ownership of the Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association.
But for the handful of residents still on the street, the decision comes after a decade which has seen their neighbours slip away one by one.
Of those remaining, one of the figures still living on the street has been in his house since the age of two.
Once a lively street full of familiar faces, according to him the only movements outside his house now are the sounds of the petty burglars trying to get their hands on anything left.
The resident, who did not want to be named, said: “People have started breaking into the empty houses and attics to pinch the boilers and anything of value.”
“They have picked everything off the street one by one. I’m about the last one to go.”
According to him the problem has recently become so bad the council has been forced to cover the drains with concrete slabs after the drain covers themselves also started to disappear.
For the resident the council’s decision to demolish his home comes as the last stage in a long process which has seen officials slowly coax his neighbours out of the area.
He said: “It’s been going on for at least 10 years. We knew about it a long time ago as they were talking about it but no-one was ever told what they were going to do.
“At first the people that wanted to go did and the housing associations starting doing the same to move people from there and board the houses up.
“They have just picked people off willy-nilly and let it go down to a dump. It’s like living in the Bronx.”
He added: “I never wanted to leave here because this is my family home. My grandmother and my mother and father lived here so I’ve got a lot memories.
“There were lovely people down here – everyone knew everyone and you could leave your door open and no-one would pinch anything.
“It was a great street with a lot of hard-working people.”
For this resident, like many others, the end of his time on the street is now in sight after recently buying another house not far away.
After staying in one place all his life the decision is not a welcome one – especially after claiming the river at the bottom of his garden has only flooded once in the last 20 years.
He said: “We have flooded but we got flooded more than 20 years ago.
He added: “When I was a young boy I remember water seeping in the floor but at the time it was flagstone and the water used to creep in.”
Instead, according to the Merthyr Vale resident it is the unmanaged drains rather than the river that can create a problem.
He said: “At the end of the street the water comes out and it can’t go anywhere. The higher the river gets the more the street floods. It can be half way up the wall, its about three or four foot.”
Despite the move however he remains optimistic about keeping in touch with his last remaining neighbours. Speaking about the former residents of the two terraced streets, he said: “I do miss them – they’re all my friends, I grew up with them.
“We do have a drink from time to time but they live in different areas now.”