How selfie snappers misery for reservoir Are causing neighbours
RESIDENTS living near a beautiful hidden reservoir have spoken of their frustrations over the “dangerous” parking situation as huge numbers of people continue to visit.
In recent months, Brombil reservoir, near Margam, has become a popular spot among visitors hoping to get the perfect selfie, with social media feeds becoming flooded with pictures and videos of the strikingly blue water. But with more and more people venturing to the reservoir, those living nearby have been faced with “chaotic” and “dangerous” scenes on their doorstep.
Visitors have to drive through a number of residential streets in order to get to the reservoir, as well as some privately owned roads. Having become such a popular attraction, on many occasions cars have lined both sides of the road leading to the reservoir, causing issues for nearby residents.
Double yellow lines have been put in place in the surrounding area but, in some instances, have been ignored and have often led to parking issues in nearby areas instead. The issue has become so bad that Neath Port Talbot Council has now asked people not to visit the reservoir, at least temporarily, until a solution is found.
Residents said that they “can’t leave the house at the weekends” and claimed that visitors, some of which have come from as far as London and Birmingham, have often become “abusive” towards them when asked to move their cars so that they are able to park outside their homes.
Catherine Morris, who lives close to the access path to the reservoir, explained that her garden wall had been knocked down after a car “rolled” into it after its occupants headed up for a walk to the reservoir.
The 54-year-old said: “It’s been really chaotic and you never know if you’re going to be able to get the cars on the drive. A car once parked up and the car rolled down and hit my wall down when my neighbour’s little girl was standing the other side of it.
“It’s dangerous and we are just afraid that something is going to happen. We had an ambulance go up a couple of months ago because someone had gone up to the reservoir and fallen. If they went at a different time they wouldn’t have been able to get through.
“Last summer it started. Somebody all put
pictures on Facebook and put the postcode up. Before lockdown we never had any trouble and it would only be local people going up, who wouldn’t drive here.
“It’s quite a narrow walk up there but we see 50 or 60 people coming down at the same time. They leave their rubbish and dog mess up there too. It’s not like we don’t want people to have a good time. We want people to have fun
but be respectful of locals.”
Celyn Davies, who also lives nearby, said that she has often seen families having to walk in the middle of the busy road as cars regularly double park on the pavements.
“It’s been horrible and we’ve had to put signs on our drive because they have been blocking our drive so we can’t get out,” the 19-year-old said.
“It’s been like this since the five-mile rule was
lifted and I think because of social media as well. I’m on social media myself and I can see the posts of people going up there. It was never this bad before lockdown.
“Under the bridge they have been double parking so if I was to drive down and another car was to come, one of us would have to reverse the whole way up or down the road. Lots of families have been coming up here and it’s
been so busy with cars that they have been walking in the road. It’s not safe for children.
“Even having bins up there would help or just stopping people from double parking. You can’t tell people not to go up there, it’s beautiful, but it’s a pain for people who live up here.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said that family members were unable to visit
because “they can’t get here” due to the parking problems in the area.
They said: “It’s really affecting us. We can’t leave the house at the weekends. You go out early in the morning and by the time you come back you can’t get back in. Family can’t come and visit because they can’t get here. Even on a weekday my children have to walk down the middle of the road.
“They block our driveways and we have asked them to move their cars and they get abusive towards us. The children play in the road here but the speed the cars come down in is ridiculous. It’s a cul-de-sac so they should be able to play outside.
“It is seen as a car park but the roads are not designed for this. There’s absolutely no way the emergency services would get up here if there was a fire.”
South Wales Police confirmed that officers will be patrolling the area over the coming weekends after responding to “inconsiderate and illegal parking” on a regular basis and urged visitors to “park responsibly and safely”.
A statement from Neath Port Talbot Council said that the reservoir’s popularity has led to “frequent
‘‘ I can see the posts of people going up there. It was never this bad before lockdown - Resident Celyn
Davies
blocked access” and “severe parking problems” for those living nearby.
It read: “Residents living near Brombil reservoir in Margam, Port Talbot, have been suffering from a huge rise in the reservoir’s popularity largely due to people seeking to post photographs of it on social media.
“It has led to frequent blocked access and severe parking problems for local residents and access for any emergency vehicles has often become blocked.
There are also issues involving littering and dog mess.
“As a result, Neath Port Talbot Council is politely requesting that recreational visitors stay away from the reservoir while a solution to the parking and other problems is worked on.
“Police, councillors and others have already held meetings to discuss the issue and it was felt that while the discussions continue, an appeal to wouldbe visitors to refrain from going there – accompanied by an explanation of the difficulties being faced by local people – could go some way towards easing the problem.
“The council does not actively promote Brombil, which is privately owned, and some of the access roads leading to it are also privately owned.
“Some traffic control orders (double yellow lines) have been put in place at Brombil but these have, in some instances, been ignored and it has also had the effect of moving the parking issues to adjacent areas.
“In the meantime, Neath Port Talbot Council is requesting that people who have no essential need to go the reservoir would refrain from visiting.”