Homes to be re-roofed with slate from Spain
A£2M SCHEME to refurbish former council houses in a Snowdonia village will see the properties roofed with Spanish slate.
Work to improve the houses on the Dôl Eilian estate at Llanberis has already begun and slates have been removed from several properties in readiness for the new slates.
But the estate lies in the shadow of the Dinorwig quarry, once the second-largest slate quarry in the world and the lifeblood of the village.
Although the quarry closed in July 1969 and no working quarry remains in the area, the spoil tips remain.
Villagers said they were disappointed to discover that Spanish slate was to be used on the houses.
Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd (CCG) blamed European regulations on the decision to import the slate from Spain rather than source the material from the remaining quarries in Wales. The nearest is the Penrhyn quarry in Bethesda.
One resident, a former slate quarry worker, said: “It’s a slap in the face for the hard work so many people put into working in the quarries around Llanberis.
“While I accept that rules are rules and CCG must abide by them, a way surely could have been found to make use of locally produced slate.”
In response a CCG spokeswoman said officials are required to comply with legislation and they cannot express a specific preference, nor bind contractors to use a specific material.
She said: “This is not a decision driven solely by financial considerations, but a decision based upon the interest of fair, equal treatment of all suppliers in the marketplace and ensuring value for money for us and our tenants.
“These slates are commonly used across north Wales by a number of public-sector bodies and fully comply with local authority planning regulations.
“As one of the largest providers of housing in Gwynedd, we are completely committed to bringing value to the local community through our contracts, with a vast range of community benefit clauses contained within our works and supplies contracts.”
The spokeswoman added: “We are investing over £2m on the Dôl Eilian and surrounding area scheme in Llanberis. Once completed, our tenants there will have better insulated homes resulting in reduced fuel bills. The scheme will also improve the appearance of the estate.
“A substantial amount of investment happens annually on external works to our houses and we’re very proud to be improving the homes of our tenants whilst also supporting the local economy by providing jobs, training opportunities and using local sub-contractors and suppliers.”
Spanish slate is similar in colour to Welsh slate and is produced in Galicia, in the north west of the country.
In recent years 90% of the natural slate used for roofing in Europe originates from Spain. Despite the cost of transporting the material the slate is often half the price of Welsh slate.