Villagers’ fury over ‘danger’ traffic since road closure
RESIDENTS living in a Welsh village have described the threemonth closure of a main road in the area as a “nightmare”.
Heol Pant-y-Gored, the main artery connecting Pentyrch and Creigiau to the north of Cardiff, is to be closed by developers while they fit pipes to supply gas for 1,500 new homes in the area.
Motorists say the diversion could add around 30 minutes onto their commute in and out of Cardiff.
Drivers are using a tight country lane, Church Road, to travel in and out of the village. It is causing severe traffic issues and is damaging the road as drivers negotiate confusing signage.
Gemma Robinson, 40, from Pentyrch, said: “The traffic since the roadworks have started have been a nightmare. It’s like an accident waiting to happen and I don’t want to drive down there, but I have no choice as I take my kids to school down there.
“Church Road is for residents only because the road is so narrow, but we have HGVs and so many other vehicles travelling down. I try and avoid travelling down because it actually worries me but I have to. When I can I avoid the lane as it is way too dangerous.”
Gemma’s daughter was travelling down Church Road and, she claims, was forced to drive into a hedge to avoid collision with a HGV. It caused hundreds of pounds of damage to her car.
Around 30 residents turned out to a meeting at a pub to voice their concerns.
Natasha Hamilton-Ash, who chaired the meeting, said: “It’s an emergency situation with what is happening on Church Road. There’s not enough communication from the council and there isn’t enough conversation going on between the two parties.
“It’s getting dangerous because the embankment is being worn away. The trees are beginning to dislodge and there is a drop down the embankment which is really dangerous.
“It’s costing me an extra £25 every two days to put in extra petrol. I used to use Heol Pant-y-Gored, but I can’t do that any more. There’s no other way around for me. I wish there was.
Earlier this week, Martin Smith, managing director for Persimmon Homes East Wales, said: “In total, Persimmon Homes is contributing £13.5m towards affordable housing, education, bus subsidies and the provision of new play/recreational equipment in Creigiau as part of this project.
“This is a huge boost for the area and will create a brand new community.”
Mr Smith added: “We appreciate the concerns of people living in the area and will continue to keep an open dialogue to ensure disruption during the works is kept to a minimum.
“To provide a suitable gas supply for the development, the closest connection point is in Pentyrch. All options were considered, including bringing the gas through third party land, but unfortunately this was not possible.
“To keep the neighbouring communities updated, we held a well-attended public meeting on January 21. We will continue to work alongside GTC (utility network provider) and Cardiff Council to address the concerns raised during this meeting.”