Council spends nearly £70,000 on 'hideous' steel fence
The 'Great Wall of Clydach' was only installed two months ago but the council must already undertake remedial work following local complaints
Cllr Richard John, far left, with Cllr Fay Bromfield, local farmer Wayne Elliot, and Cllr Simon Howarth standing beside the steel fence dubbed the 'Great Wall of Clydach'
(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service )
A Welsh council spent £66,000 on a steel fence which now needs significant remedial work after locals complained about it. Monmouthshire County Council forked out the huge cost for the steel fence dubbed the "Great Wall of Clydach" in the village in the north of the county in April.
It stretches more than 200m across Gilwern mountain within Bannau Brycheiniog and has been described by a councillor as "hideous".
The local authority has said the fence, which is 2.1m in height, was essential to prevent access to the Pwll Du road on the mountain due to concerns it might give way into the quarry beneath following the illegal removal of previous barriers such as bollards and gates.
The fence's abrupt installation, which bypassed public consultation, led to community uproar prompting the council in May to agree to lower its height and repaint it which will cost another £20,000.
During the latest council meeting on the issue councillor Richard John, leader of the Conservative opposition group, inquired about the total expenditure on the fencing above Clydach.
Cllr Catrin Maby, Labour cabinet member for the environment, responded that the overall cost would hit around £66,000 by the end of the year, including £42,000 for the initial setup and an extra £22,000 to render it "more visually acceptable".
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She informed councillors there had been sightings of individuals on the road oblivious to the potential danger of collapse which necessitated swift action by the council.
She also said "part of the cost is the cost of vandalism unfortunately". "Please remember saving lives is our priority when assessing the cost of this road," she added.
Cllr John, representing Mitchell Troy and Trellech, said: "Lives are important but clearly there was wastage here."
He asked what measures would be implemented "so we do not see this huge scale of money wasted again", adding that "£66,000 has been spent on that fence this year".
He expressed a "real sense of a significant amount of money wasted here" and said after he'd inspected the fence alongside two other councillors: "It's absolutely hideous. It is 7ft high and has huge metal spikes."
He requested the cabinet member to "quantify how much has been spent unnecessarily". Cllr Maby said: "Had no vandalism occurred the cost would have been £2,000.
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"I put the question back to you –how much do you think saving a life is worth if you think that's an over-expenditure?"
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