Fly-tipping is ruining an Afan Forest beauty spot with the remains of cannabis farms, a TV and a sofa having been dumped there in the past few weeks, a councillor has warned.
Jeremy Hurley said increasing amounts of rubbish was being discarded on the road from Tonmawr to Gyfylchi Farm in the Afan Forest, a popular place for walkers and mountain bikers, with the Bryn Bettws lodges and the Afan Bike Park located there.
The Pelenna ward councillor said: “Because we are rural, there’s quite a few isolated places and it seems an easy place to do it.
“The last one was just before Christmas with probably 20 black bags full of cannabis farm waste.
More about fly-tipping:
“We had issues a couple of years ago and put up some signs but they’re just getting disregarded.
“Some of it is pure laziness – people can take TVs to the tip without any charge.
“It’s disgusting, it’s really impacting on the village – a local beauty spot is being ruined by people who have no regard for where we live.”
Cllr Hurley said he had asked about cameras being placed on the site.
“I know the council is prosecuting people quite regularly now but these people are smartening up, they’re not putting receipts in any more, they’re almost pre-cleansing it before tipping it,” he added.
He said the community had a Neighbourhood Watch scheme and would be taking part in more litter picks to help clean up the area.
Robbie Black, who runs the Bryn Bettws Lodges and a centre for mountain biking and outdoor pursuits at the top of the road, said local people were fed up with fly-tipping.
He said: “It’s becoming more and more regular, there’s a layby where people stop and just dump their rubbish and throw stuff out of their vehicles.
“Why should they be destroying a place of natural beauty for everyone else?
“Natural Resources Wales (NRW) [which manages much of the forest] comes fairly quickly and clears it up but it’s not the answer, local people are up in arms.
“Some of our guests have even gone out with black bags picking up rubbish.
“We get a lot of visitors from Europe and elsewhere, and we have some big events here, it’s not nice for the people to see all this rubbish dumped with cannabis factory waste and other trash people are too lazy to take to the local tip.”
NRW’s senior officer for land management, James Roseblade, said the organisation would look at installing cameras in the area.
He said: “Looking after Wales’ woodlands is a huge part of the work we do and this can include clearing waste from the land we manage when it’s dumped there illegally.
“The fly-tipped waste at Afan Forest is cleared by our teams regularly, and there are signs along the main road that have been erected by the local community.
“We work closely with Fly Tipping Action Wales and will investigate if there is a possibility to install cameras and further signage at this location.”
