A landowner who buried a well-used footpath under tons of earth with a mechanical digger has said he did it amidst a backlash from residents against his business. Christopher Rees spoke to WalesOnline after we ran a story on the row in Stormtown in the Taff Bargoed Valley.
Residents of Stormtown say the skip hire boss has "cut the village in half" after he covered the route - a set of concrete steps that were an integral link between their tight-knit hillside community and the village of Trelewis below - late last month. Locals claim it is the latest incident in a long-running dispute with Rees, who bought the land two years ago, and they have aired their frustrations to the council and their local MP.
They say they're at their wits' end from being woken by lorries and heavy machinery operating on the site "at all hours of the day and night", even as late as 1.30am. Those whose houses back onto to Mr Rees' land claim he has damaged their back walls by using his digger to scrape away the earth, and one even said he had turned his digger to shine its light through a resident's windows at night.
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Locals have also complained about the site being an "eyesore", full of skips and containers - which Mr Rees said he is using to clear waste on the site - as well as dumped rubble and "road scrapings".
The landowner, who who owns Step Up Recycling Ltd, denies the accusations and says he has been the victim of "several threats" and "attacks" from locals. "People are coming onto my private property and attacking me. Why should I feel threatened on my very own property?" he said.
He also said has faced "continuous slander" against his business on social media. "I am appalled that they have accused me of flytipping waste across my land when I am the owner of a large and reputable recycling company where I am contracted to work for multimillion pound companies and large developments projects," he said. He admitted to WalesOnline on Saturday that because of the backlash he's received he is "contemplating selling the land to a housing association".
He said the decision to cover the path came after an altercation with a neighbour - who Mr Rees claims threatened to kill him with a chain and threw rocks at his machinery - so that he could stop that individual from accessing his land. While he is sorry that other residents "will lose the privilege too", he said the route is not a public right of way that residents can legally use, but simply an easement for the water board.
But residents have pointed out the route is recognised as a claimed right of way by the council, which has maintained it over the years. It is thought the steps were built for access to a chapel in the lower part of the village - which has since been turned into a house - and has been used since 1926, before the houses were built.
On Friday, April 8, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council affixed an enforcement notice to a post next to Mr Rees' land. The notice reads that "there has been a breach of planning control", with no planning permission having been granted for "skips, containers, piled material, erection of a retaining wall and alterations to an existing access track".
The notice continues that the skips, containers and piled material "have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the area", before ordering Mr Rees to permanently remove them "from the land it their entirety". The notice will take effect from May 9, and he has has eight weeks from that date to comply, unless he appeals beforehand.
A resident, who lives in the lower part of Stormtown, hopes the footpath will be restored - though its future is unclear. She said it was "continually used" by people and its closure has "cut the village in half". She used to rely on it to walk up to the bus stop right next to the top the steps, and admitted she now feels "isolated". Her only route to the bus stop is a winding rural road that is longer, has no pavement and no handrail. She said it took her 45 minutes to get there the first time she tried, and, as a result, she's been forced to use a different bus stop altogether.
"[Closing the footpath] has made a big difference to me. It was easier for me to climb the steps [up to the bus stop], rather than walk around. I used to go out about twice a week, but now I only go out once because I can't cope. It's harder for my friend, too, who lives up the hill, when she comes to visit me - she has to come far."
Other residents said the the footpath is a safe way of getting through the village as it meant they didn't have to walk along any main roads, and was regularly used by children. One said she used it as a shortcut to get to a chemist in Treharris. Mr Rees pointed out the footpath isn't the "only access" for locals, and said there is is another trail, with 64 steps, at the other end of his field.
But a resident who has lived in Stormtown for 30 years said the other route is "not lit, has no handrail and is not very good for the elderly". The resident, who has arthritis in her hips and knees, used to use the previous shortcut every day, adding that its closure has "taken the pleasure out of being outside". Another resident echoed her, saying that "what was a 10 minute journey is now half an hour." She also claimed Mr Rees has been "abusive" to children playing on his land. The landowner denied this, saying: "I've never said anything to a child. The kids are no trouble - their parents cause trouble."
Residents are also concerned over the future of the bus stop as it encroaches upon his land. The shelter is regularly used by locals using the hourly bus which runs through Stormtown. One resident, who did not want to be named, pointed out the blue marks painted intermittently along the stretch of grass overlooking his land. She said: "According to him, he's going to build a six-foot feather-edge fence. He says the bus stop is on his land. The blue lines are where he says he owns up to. He freely admitted he was fed up of people looking." Mr Rees said the purpose of the fences is "so that there is clarity to residents of Stormtown and public of exactly where my land lies".
Mr Rees said he has "provided [locals] with lots of clarity and insight into the work I am carrying out", but residents claim they have "never had a conversation with him" and are unaware of his intentions for the site. "All I want is to have my horses. This used to be an old allotment. My intention is just to tidy up and make it a place for my horses to graze," Mr Rees told WalesOnline on Saturday.
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