Pontypridd: Residents' quarry protest tries to stop lorries

Residents first staged a protest at the site last week

Residents protesting over the expansion of a quarry have tried to stop lorries entering and leaving the site.

People have been at the Craig yr Hesg site, in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, every day since Tuesday.

Demonstrators are worried the expansion could affect their health, homes and the environment.

The quarry owners said the work was tightly regulated and offered to revisit an offer to give 11.4 acres of unused land to the community.

Expansion plans were originally rejected by Rhondda Cynon Taf council, but that was over-ruled by Climate Change Minister Julie James after an appeal in October 2022.

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The site produces pennant sandstone, which is used in roads, and an extra 10 million tonnes will be quarried at the expanded site until 2047.

This week's daily demonstrations follow an initial protest last week.

An extra 10 million tonnes of stone will be quarried from Craig-yr-Hesg

Claire Allen, who lives on the nearby Glyncoch estate, said: "We are trying to save our community. We are scared at the moment. Our houses have all got cracks.

"There's a school right next to where they are blasting, our children are up there".

Other residents were concerned about loss of environment, including a hillside used for walking.

Anne Marie Coggins, who believes her home has been damaged by the work, said: "When they blast it's like an earthquake. My property literally vibrates."

Selena Young, of Glyncoch, is concerned about the effects that airborne dust is having on her family's health, with the expansion potentially taking the quarry within 200m (650ft) of her back garden

She added: "At the moment my house shakes when the quarry blasts. I have dust all over my cars and in the house.

"We have to continually clean and if we're in the garden we have to breathe all of that in."

Anne Marie Coggins believes her home has been damaged by the work

Heidelberg Materials said: "We understand local concerns about the loss of amenity space.

"The frustrating thing is that we had discussions nearly a decade ago with the local authority about us donating 11.4 acres of quarry unused quarry land for community use.

"At the time our offer was turned down, but we'd be happy to revisit this.

"The potential air quality and dust effects from quarries are well understood and are already tightly managed. Extensive monitoring, carried out by Rhondda Cynon Taf, shows full compliance".