A mum has accused a local authority of allowing HGVs to use her driveway to access a development that is blighting the lives of residents. Beth Edwards said she did not want her three-year-old son Bran to have to grow up amid a building site.
Ms Edwards bought a house at Coed Parc in Bridgend town centre in 2020 with her husband, next to the old Coed Parc library which is a listed building. Everything ran smoothly, until they realised that the future of the development site where their house was on, was not quite as straightforward as it first seemed.
The old Coed Parc Library site in Park Street, Bridgend, which includes a Grade II listed main house, was sold by Bridgend County Borough Council to Wales and West Housing Association (WWHA) in 2012. Following a drawn out planning dispute, the site was sold by WWHA in 2019.
Read more: Land at the centre of Bridgend planning dispute goes up for sale for £525k
Fast forward to 2023, and people are not happy with a subsequent development undertaken by Parc Tree Homes Ltd, where construction has now begun.
Beth said: "I can't have my son living on this site any longer. When we bought the house we knew that work would be done to the back- we accepted that, we accepted that houses were going to be built but the access wasn't past our house which is the case now.
"Similarly, we were happy for the work to commence at the back when the work at the front was completed so at least Bran, my little boy would be able to play out the front safely and at least my husband would be able to walk to work safely. We wouldn't have to worry about being able to get out to do day-to-day life because we'd be blocked in by HGVs but now we're in the situation where we'll have them at the front and the back for however long it takes to build nine properties."
Initially, the family believed their house was part of phase one of the development with phase two being the library development and phase three the nine properties to the rear that can be accessed via Walters Road, which is a public highway. Beth said: “A revision to this plan has now retrospectively been put in place by the local council to complete phase three before phase two, with all HGV traffic and wheel washing facilities to be accessed via our private driveway, for which we have private right of way, from Park Street which is currently under an air pollution consultation.”
The change to the plans was announced on Thursday, January 5. Beth noted: "The original planning conditions were not discharged when our houses were built. Therefore, our houses were built in contravention of the agreed permission without our knowledge... But of course, there has been no recourse for the developer from the council, in fact, his revisions have been allowed today.
"This revision means HGV traffic will now pass my house every day, on top of the current state of the site, and the site will now remain in this condition until the houses behind are completed. That's before we get started on the state of the listed building."
Beth, who was formerly a BBC journalist who spent years championing her hometown, Bridgend, says she feels let down by what is going on. She added: "It is not what we bought, not what our conveyancers agreed to, and quite frankly it is an affront to lifelong Bridgend residents such as myself who simply want to raise a family here and live within walking distance of local amenities.
"My husband works in the Princess Of Wales hospital and walks up this drive in the dark both day and night."
The residents are now working towards putting forward an injunction so that no building can happen on the site at all until a resolution is reached. Beth added: "Unfortunately for the developer they're going to go bankrupt if something can't be done because they'll have to buy our houses back off us."
Another resident affected by the plans, Stewart Kelly is worried about the level of safety outside the current properties in the area, especially for small children nearby, or his own spaniel.
Stewart said: "The only safety aspects that have been put forward are really for construction workers and tradesmen arriving at the site but nothing to do with pedestrians who actually live on the site."
He said in a speech at the Development Control Committee on Thursday, January 5: "Did we know that we’d be living next to construction work? Yes. Did we think we’d have to compete with HGVs on our driveway? No. Because we were assured otherwise."
The work on the listed building which was originally supposed to be a priority has now also been stopped- to the dismay of some people in the area.
Stewart also said in his speech: "From our point of view, all phase one work – including the front lawn of the library and the wider landscaping of phase one – must be finished before the developer is given permission to start any further phases.
"The application is asking you to halt work on the library for another three years, at least. We worry that the listed historic building won’t be able to withstand several more years of neglect, without proper protection from you today."
A Bridgend County Borough Council spokesman said: “As the Coed Parc site is still under construction, we have advised residents who purchased houses during the first phase of development to report any health or safety concerns that they may have to the Health and Safety Executive as they are the relevant body with powers for carrying out appropriate sanctions.
“The revised construction method statement was approved after an enforcement investigation confirmed that some conditions had not been complied with before work began at the site. This was in order to ensure that a realistic and effective means of dealing with the current situation is in place which minimises both risk and disruption.
“The enforcement process, which includes works to the listed building, is currently ongoing, and the council has further advised residents that they may wish to seek their own independent legal advice on the matter.”
Read next:
The big planning developments approved by Cardiff council this week
- Families unable to move to new housing development and facing huge additional costs due to land dispute
Controversial plans to build 460 homes in the valleys take next step forward
Bus problems, taxi fare rises and new roads: The state of transport in the Valleys
A new primary school in the Rhondda has been approved by councillors
