RESIDENTS and councillors living in and around a housing development in Caerphilly have expressed concern and anger about contaminated water from building works.

The Virginia Park development works have been going on despite numerous objections and original developers Bellway pulling out.

And some have said they have been dismayed to find water being discharged from the site into streams in the area, with images and drone footage showing the extent of the issue.

 

Images show that on Sunday, May 16 - one month after Natural Resources Wales were contacted about the issue - much of the water in the area was dirty. One resident, who took pictures and footage, said there used to be a coal mine nearby and speculated that the water could be being brought up to the surface from this. The site had also been previously used as a landfill.

The resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It begs the question of how they can build houses there when this is happening now? What would happen if the area floods when there are houses?”

Caerphilly Town Council member member Cllr Phil Bevan said: “NRW were contacted as long ago as April 12 about water from the site being discharged into the Porset Brook and Nany Yr Aber. It is urgent that this water is tested for contaminants as reports highlighted various pollutants such as arsenic and mercury dumped when the site was used for landfill decades ago, when controls were far less strict than today.

“Despite the urgency, NRW says it takes up to 30 days to respond to incidents.”

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NRW operations manager, Jon Goldsworthy, said: “Our officers attended Virginia Park on April 15 in response to concerns about contaminated water being discharged from the site. The operator was informed that an environmental permit is required to discharge water, and as an interim measure, they were instructed that water must be tinkered away and taken to a permitted facility for disposal.

“Our investigations into circumstances of the incident remain ongoing. If we find evidence of environmental damage, we will take the appropriate enforcement action. If anyone sees any further signs of pollution in the area, they should report it to our incident hotline on 03000 65 3000.”

Cllr Mike Prew, who also serves on Caerphilly Town Council said: “This development should have never been allowed. Plaid Cymru councillors voted against the application but were defeated by a Labour majority. Labour claim they were against but forgot to mention that they voted through the LDP (Local Development Plan) in 2016 to build thousands of houses in Caerphilly.”

Originally Bellway Homes were due to develop 350 houses on the site after planning permission was approved in May 2019. However, they pulled out a year later after being unable to agree terms with the landowner.

They withdrew their ‘reserved matters’ application which focuses on the finer details of the plans and means that the planning permission to build is still in place and will be until 2024.

Contractors Prichard’s began work on March 22 to flatten and drain the site and prepare it for houses being built.

A spokesperson for Prichard’s said: “All works on site are being undertaken in line with the approved Site Investigation, Remediation Strategy and Groundwater Scheme of Monitoring and we continue to work closely with the relevant regulators.

“Following excavation of almost 200,000 tonnes of soil to date, our testing and sampling have not identified any groundwater contamination. We are constantly monitoring the quality of both materials excavated and the encountered water. In the event of any contaminated water being encountered, this would be isolated and removed off site by tankers to be disposed of at a suitably licensed facility.

“Prichard Remediation have a dedicated project liaison officer who is available to address any issues with local residents that may arise as needed. They can be reached on 07947304568 or via email VPResidents@prichardholdings.co.uk.”