Council considers shutting old road to stop fly-tippers
COUNCILLORS have agreed to consult on plans to ban vehicles travelling on a road which has a problem with fly-tipping.
An order is being proposed on the old parish road between Heolgerrig in Merthyr Tydfil and the county boundary with Rhondda Cynon Taf and cabinet has agreed to consult on the idea.
The road, officially named Cyfarthfa 64, runs from the top of Heolgerrig Road towards Aberdare and is a section of an ancient route across Mynydd Aberdare between the Taff and the Cynon valleys linking the old Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare parishes.
The cabinet report says a large amount of fly-tipping occurs along the edges of what is currently a byway open to all traffic, and a road traffic regulation order is being proposed to deal with this problem.
If the order is made it will become an offence to drive a mechanically-propelled vehicle on the route and it will be a matter for the police to enforce the order, which could land those who flout it with a £1,000 fine.
The report says it is evident flytipping occurs along both sides of this route and that predominantly the fly-tipping occurs where the track levels off and the surface changes to unsurfaced.
The fly-tipping has been cleared several times by the council, by the Cyfarthfa Community Group and by representatives of Keep Wales Tidy and Natural Resources Wales.
A report received from a local resident and officers’ observations show that the route has become blocked (i.e. impassable) on occasion due to the amount of waste deposited and residents claim the waste contains evidence regarding names and addresses.
Any order that is made would come under section 1 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the proposal is that the reason for the order is to preserve or improve the amenities of the area through which the road runs.
Access for cyclists, horses and pedestrians would still be allowed. There would be some exemptions to the order such as for use by emergency vehicles or by any local authority or statutory bodies, to enable work to be carried out in, on under or near the right of way, use for agriculture or land management on any land or premises next to the right of way, use through the direction or with the permission of a police constable in uniform; and use with the prior written permission of the council.
The order’s advertisement would cost around £1,000 to £1,500 and would be met from within existing budgets.
Councillor Geraint Thomas, cabinet member for regeneration and public protection said: “We’ve worked a long time trying to get this road altered at the top of Heolgerrig.
“I know the residents of Heolgerrig are going to welcome this report coming to cabinet today.”
Councillor Andrew Barry the cabinet member for finance said: “It’s a travesty really because of some irresponsible individuals we have to take measures that penalise the majority in terms of the area.
“It’s a long standing issue with us. I just think again we come back to the issue that we need law enforcement to be as severe as they possibly can and the judicial system to ensure that they put the penalties in place to ensure that we start to restrict this blight on our land.
“It’s a shame that we’ve got to restrict the many because of the few again.”
Councillor David Hughes, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said the fly-tipping is a blight.
He said: “Many times we’ve had fly tipping up in that area. I would concur with Cllr Barry about the enforcement by the police.
“We must send out a strong message to the people of Merthyr that fly tipping will not be tolerated.”