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".
Article continues below
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.
Article continues below
"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?"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The migrant hotel flashpoint in the heart of London's banking district: How Canary Wharf has become a asylum seeker 'dumping ground' with 'terrified' locals scared to leave homes
Once hailed as a 'miniature Manhattan', Canary Wharf's new status as a migrant hotel flashpoint has been seized upon as evidence of its decline. The decision to house hundreds of illegal migrants in the heart of East London's banking district has prompted a furious reaction from locals, with some complaining of feeling too scared to leave their homes. Protests are taking place outside the four-star Britannia Hotel almost daily, with the recent arrest of one of its residents for walking into a woman's home doing nothing to ease tensions. It comes at a difficult time for the finance hub, which has seen a series of major firms announce plans to leave amid a post-pandemic drive towards working from home. Susan Hall, the Conservative Assembly member and former London mayoral candidate, claimed the use of Canary Wharf as a 'dumping ground' for illegal migrants was evidence of its decline under London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan. 'I had a phone call with someone who lives nearby who said she won't go out without her husband because she doesn't feel safe,' she told the Daily Mail. 'This is a prestigious financial district, but clearly Sadiq Khan doesn't care where these people are put, the safety of women and children, or the chaos on our streets. 'It took 12 days to build a Nightingale Hospital - so why on earth can't they build a detention centre?' Anti-migrant protesters who gathered outside the hotel earlier this month shout at counter-protesters across the road The Britannia, which opened in 1992 at the height of Canary Wharf's emergence from an area of derelict dockland, usually charges more than £400 a night for rooms Eleano Borisenko, 31, said: 'I don't feel safe. I've been here five years. We had no consultation. Nobody asked us any questions' The Britannia, which opened in 1992 at the height of Canary Wharf's emergence from an area of derelict dockland, boasts of 'superb views over the London skyline' and usually charges more than £400 a night for rooms. The hotel is also within walking distance of skyscraper One Canada Square, which was the UK's tallest building for more than 20 years until The Shard was unveiled in 2012. It has since become the focus of protests after Tower Hamlets Council confirmed it had been handed over to the Home Office to house asylum seekers. Another group of up to 50 migrants arrived at the hotel yesterday morning before being hurried inside by guards. Residents living near the hotel have spoken of their concerns about having hundreds of bored young men now living on their doorstep. Tracey Calder, a 35-year-old receptionist, said she now tries to walk in a group for safety. 'We are forming a group of locals so we don't go out on our own. We are terrified,' she told the Daily Mail. A man reacts after being arrested during a demonstration outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf on August 3 Officers made two arrests on Friday during clashes between anti-migrant protesters and 'anti-fascists' Friends Roy Knott, 62, and Jo Avent, 55, live nearby and want the hotel to stop housing migrants Eleano Borisenko, 31, said: 'I don't feel safe. I've been here five years. We had no consultation. Nobody asked us any questions. 'They never said what would be happening and there was no discussion or debate. It was a huge shock.' Friends Roy Knott, 62, and Jo Avent, 55, live nearby and want the hotel to stop housing migrants. Mr Knott said: 'They get everything handed to them on a plate. It's serious. I don't feel safe and I know a lot of families who feel the same. 'The cost to the taxpayer must be huge as well. Can Can we afford this. There are police and security there all the time. 'People are so angry locally. I know people who simply don't want to live here anymore.' Canary Wharf has struggled in recent years after the shift towards working from home saw a dip in demand for office space. Many big employers have downsized their concrete footprint as a consequence. A man in his 20s who was living at the Britannia Hotel was recently arrested for assault after allegedly walking into a woman's home HSBC said in 2023 that it planned to vacate its 45-floor Canary Wharf skyscraper - 8 Canada Square - in 2027, when the current lease expires. Law giant Clifford Chance is also leaving. It occupies 10 Upper Bank Street, a 32-storey one million square foot skyscraper. In 2028, it will move back to the City to occupy a new, much smaller office block. Major rival Allen & Overy has already left. US law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom moved to the City in 2024. And credit agency Moody's is also planning to leave. Despite the slate of high-profile departures, those in charge of the district would point to recent data that shows the valuation of some of its offices are rising for the first time in three years. The value of a £2billion portfolio that includes around half of Canary Wharf Group's office holdings increased by 0.6 per cent between March and June, according to data released by landlord CWG. Even so, many are adamant that the chaos surrounding the Britannia Hotel will do nothing to aid this recovery. Jules Durand, a French financial worker who joined the protests, told the Telegraph. 'I think it's crazy. I may move. Everyone in my building doesn't like it but they won't act and come down here because they don't want to be on camera. 'I don't oppose the hotel, but I just don't want them here. I'm against immigration all the way. My area of France has been completely overwhelmed.' A gleaming aerial view of Canary Wharf, Docklands, in the early 2000s, when optimism about the area was flying high Barriers have been set up outside the hotel to keep protesters away from the entrance A security guard stands outside the hotel late last month On Friday, a crowd of anti-migrant protesters descended on the hotel to be met by counter demonstrators. Officers were seen pinning some activists on the ground, with two arrests made. One was an anti-migrant protester who was detained after a bottle was thrown at officers. The other was a member of the counter-protest group who was arrested for failing to remove their face covering. The main road outside the hotel was blocked by hundreds of demonstrators shouting 'save our kids'. Police had to rapidly mobilise to contain a group of 'anti-fascist' activists arriving at South Quay station to confront anti-migrant protesters as they held signs that said 'no human is illegal' and chanted: 'Refugees have the right - here to stay, here to fight.' More than a hundred police officers moved to kettle the group outside the tube station for breaching the peace. People then made their way into the town as the main road outside the hotel was closed. Dozens were carrying flags, leading chants of 'Keir Starmer is a w*****' and 'send them home'. It comes as police continue to quiz a man accused of bursting into a blind woman's flat has been arrested on suspicion of common assault. A protester who was asked to remove his face mask shouts at a police officer whilst taking part in the Stand Up to Racism rally outside the Britannia on Friday Your browser does not support iframes. The suspect, aged in his 20s, was living at the Britannia, and was being held by police in Hackney, east London, in the early hours of this morning. He is said to have entered the house on Wednesday night after being followed by a group of men on the street and told to 'go back to the hotel' where anti-migrant protesters were gathered outside. The Met has now said he is no longer living there. A spokesperson for the police this morning said: 'Our investigation continued on Thursday, with officers carrying out extensive CCTV enquiries and speaking to witnesses. 'As a result of this, in the early hours of this morning - Friday, 15 August - we arrested a man in the Hackney area on suspicion of common assault. He is believed to be in his early 20s. 'We can confirm that this is the man who allegedly entered the flat. He is now in police custody.' A 22-year-old woman who was arrested on Wednesday evening and lives at the flat which was entered has since been charged with a number of offences.
The National
25 minutes ago
- The National
BBC Scotland breached standards with Labour peer on Debate Night
The BBC hosted a 'Glasgow Special' episode of the show on the night of June 4 – a day before voters were set to go to the polls for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. The panel show featured the SNP's Glasgow Council leader Susan Aitken, Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells, artist David Eustace as well as both Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney and Labour peer Willie Haughey. But the BBC didn't disclose that Haughey is a Labour peer – instead describing him as an 'entrepreneur' on social media and a Labour donor. READ MORE: Scottish 85-year-old pens scathing letter to Keir Starmer over immigration rules He has donated over £1 million to the party between 2003 and 2010. Now, the BBC's Executive Complaints Unit has ruled that it represented a breach of the BBC's standards of accuracy. 'The ECU accepted that the programme should have made Lord Haughey's status as a Labour peer clear and agreed that not doing so represented a breach of the BBC's standards of accuracy,' it wrote. 'It noted, however, that BBC Scotland had already published a posting to that effect on the Corrections and Clarifications page of the BBC website, and considered this sufficient to resolve the issue of complaint.' But it was the makeup of the panel (below) that drew particular anger from the SNP and the Scottish Greens. (Image: BBC/Twitter) An SNP source at the time told The National that Debate Night appears to have 'thrown the BBC's proposed guidance on balance out of the window' by including two Labour representatives. This was before we subsequently revealed that Eustace also appears to be a prominent Scottish Labour supporter. The Glasgow Greens submitted a formal complaint to the BBC, highlighting that it has far more elected representatives than the Tories – for example – and branding it a 'farce'. Now, the BBC have also responded to the complaint and argued that the panel makeup didn't breach its impartiality guidelines. 'While the composition of the panel would have been inappropriate for an item governed by the BBC's election guidelines, these apply in the case of by-elections only to coverage of the by-election itself or the constituency in which it is taking place,' the ECU ruled. 'The item in question was unconnected with the impending by-election, and focused on the future regeneration of Glasgow, a topic on which (as the ensuing discussion illustrated) there is a large measure of cross-party agreement.' The statement added: 'The ECU considered the composition of the panel appropriate to the circumstances and found no breach of the BBC's standards of impartiality.'
South Wales Guardian
42 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Charity boss offers ‘olive branch' to Jenrick in migration comments row
Krish Kandiah, a director of Sanctuary Foundation which has previously helped refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan, said he was offering an 'olive branch' to Robert Jenrick. During a BBC broadcast earlier this week, Mr Kandiah claimed Mr Jenrick had echoed 'fear of the stranger', adding: 'The technical name for this is xenophobia.' The BBC apologised to Mr Jenrick and has since removed references to xenophobia from the programme. The Conservative politician had accused the broadcaster of thinking it was 'acceptable to smear millions of worried citizens as 'xenophobic' for their completely understandable fears about undocumented men entering illegally'. Mr Kandiah's comments, made in the Thought for the Day section of the BBC Radio Four Today programme, followed a piece Mr Jenrick had published in the Mail on Sunday. The Tory MP wrote: 'I certainly don't want my children to share a neighbourhood with men from backward countries who broke into Britain illegally, and about whom we know next to nothing.' Mr Kandiah previously appeared to double down on his comments, posting the original audio from his broadcast online and urging people to 'take a listen and let me know what I am wrong about factually?' On Thursday, he took to social media with a direct plea to Mr Jenrick. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he posted: 'Olive branch offered … Mr Jenrick, I want your daughters and mine to be able to walk down the road safely and without fear. I worked with you when you were housing minister and the UK welcomed over 200,000 people from Hong Kong. 'I was grateful for your support and compassion during that time. I would love to find a way we could work together to de-escalate the fear and anger many are feeling in our country. 'I believe we need to focus on the real challenges that are making people worried – housing, jobs and the cost of living – rather than ramping up anti-immigrant sentiment.' Mr Jenrick's team has been contacted for comment.
