A Newport Member of the Senedd (MS) has called the abandoned road where miles of rubbish has been dumped a "national embarrassment" and said it is so bad it needs Welsh Government intervention.
Known locally as the 'road to nowhere' the abandoned stretch of dual carriageway off the A48 in Coedkernew, Newport has seen huge amounts of illegal dumping in the past 20 years.
Despite efforts from local campaigners and Newport City Council to tackle the issue it has remained a major problem and was recently featured on a BBC Panorama programme on large-scale dumping.
Raising the issue at Wednesday's meeting of the Senedd Newport West MS Jayne Bryant called it "a national embarrassment" and said the scale of the problem meant it now required government assistance.
"The criminality is shocking," she said.
"Local groups who are intent on cleaning the area have found evidence of waste from areas such as Bristol, the Midlands, other parts of Wales, and much further afield. Dedicated local residents have formed a group to try and tackle the problem, and it features interested parties.
"However, progress is painfully slow and the scale of what's happening means that local government is stretched.
"The pollution caused and the sheer amount of dumped rubbish means that the clear-up costs will be high, and they need Welsh Government support.
"I'd urge the Minister to please look again at what intervention the Welsh Government can do at the 'road to nowhere' to clean up the area, and to work with Newport City Council and residents to find a purpose for the land which is the best way of protecting the environment and preventing this from happening in the future."
In December two vehicles were seized following an investigation into illegal dumping on the site.
Responding to Ms Bryant Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths MS said she was aware that Newport council "had made some good progress in identifying some of the criminals who are involved with tipping waste at the site" and had taken actions including vehicle seizures and issuing fines.
But she acknowledged that the site "does remain vulnerable to further tipping" and added:
"The council are the owners of the land, so I would urge them to take further steps to ensure further tipping doesn't take place there."
The 'road to nowhere' was built during the development of the Imperial Park estate in the late 1990s, when electronics firm LG set up its factory in Newport with promises of creating more than 6,100 jobs.
However, further development in the area never materialised and since the factory closed in the mid-2000s the road has been mostly disused.
Newport City Council has previously said the site is "owned by a number of organisations and private owners" and that it is "working with our partners to find a long-term resolution".
