by As a visitor to Cefn Coed you cannot miss the hum of construction work and the pulse of diggers and trucks. But for the people who live there this is “nothing” compared to how it was.
As one resident said: “You’d have neighbors over there and say: ‘What the hell is that?’ As if you could feel the floor shaking.” Located less than two miles from Merthyr Tydfil town center is Cefn Coed the village on the right hand side of the A470 before heading north into Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.
For years the community was brought to a standstill by the 11 mile stretch of major roadworks on the A465 which cut through the village. The Kinna Glenn road is on track to be completed by mid-2025 at a cost of more than £1bn and is expected to improve road safety – something many locals and road users welcome in theory. The Welsh Government has full responsibility for the project, which plans to convert 11 miles of the A465 into a dual carriageway in each direction to improve safety and traffic flow. They appointed Aberdar-based construction company Future Valleys to build the second.
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But what is supposed to be a short-term disruption is a “never-ending battle” for people living in the village. In 2022 and 2023 business owners told WalesOnline how their trade was completely killed when the road bridge at the top of Cefn Coed High Street was closed in September 2021 as customers had reduced access to the village. Meanwhile residents complained of “roaring” piles, stationary trucks and dust. For the latest news from Merthyr Tydfil, sign up to our newsletter here.
From October 2024, there were some improvements to the reception of residents. The road bridge has reopened allowing traffic to pass through the community again. And although the works are ongoing, the construction is moving more away from the houses which results in less dust and less noise.
However, that has brought little relief to those who claim the works have left their homes cracked and damaged, or to those who have lost land and are fighting for fair compensation. Darryl and Ann Wilkins’ home in Pearce Court overlooks the works. The couple, who are in their late 70s, told WalesOnline they were treated “absolutely shockingly” during the process.
Showing WalesOnline several deep cracks throughout the house, where the couple raised their family and have lived for 40 years, Darryl said: “I started noticing problems with the house about 18 months ago.
“I was on the tricycle outside the shed. I saw something in front of me and thought: ‘That’s a big cobweb’. Then I realized it wasn’t a sod web – it was a crack. After that various cracks started to appear.
“There is a crack [in the living room] and it goes all the way through the wall – and it’s a two-foot wall. We have a crack upstairs that is bigger than that and it also goes through the wall. Before the work started we had carried out a survey which showed that there was no damage to the house – now we have cracks and [construction firm Future Valleys] telling us there is no damage.”
Cracks are not the only cause of concern for the couple. Since construction began, 11 windows have been blown out, all of which the couple said have been replaced by Future Valleys.
Darryl said: “What we noticed was that in my upstairs bedroom there was water at the bottom of the window – it was constantly filling up. We were up there one day and the water was gone. There was such a vibration that it shook the water out of the window. All the seals were broken and blown on 11 of our windows. This started within a month or two of them pileddrive.
“ We fought to get [our windows fixed] and we did them about a month ago. They agreed to do it but won’t take responsibility. They said they would do it as a ‘goodwill gesture’.”
The couple said the last few years had taken a toll on them both physically and mentally. This includes Darryl having asthma attacks for the first time in years during the height of the dust, he said. Although his breathing problems have improved, he said his mental state is worse than ever.
He said: “I have suffered terribly mentally and physically. I shake like a leaf. I had no end of trouble.” He mentioned Ann, adding: “She’s really worried about me.
“If they turned around and said: ‘We’ll fix all this in a few months’ it would take the weight off our shoulders because we’ll never get the money to fix all this damage.” Darryl and Ann said they are not seeking financial compensation. They just want to fix the damage.
A few doors down the life of Mandy MacMillan. She said she is trying to find an attorney to help her with the damages she claims throughout her home since the work began. This includes cracks in her walls and a stone that fell from the top of her garage.
“The problems started when they were driving piles,” she said. “Everything in the house was shaking, everything was shaking in the cupboards. It’s less of a problem now but the cracks are still there.
“We haven’t been able to do anything about it yet because we haven’t been able to find an attorney. I want a local attorney who understands the area but everyone I’ve contacted says they can’t work with us because [work] with the British Government.”
Work is currently underway outside Mandy’s house to build a drainage system. Since the construction of the road began Mandy said she has dealt with the work just outside her house and has not had access to her garage for three years.
She said: “This whole thing has been frustrating. It’s all the stress, the mess, the dust, there’s rubble everywhere. It’s like you’re living in a construction site. Recently they removed the [old] drain from the outside of my house and add this [new] one in, which is good. They had to change it twice though because the first design wasn’t right.
“I understand that things can go wrong but the first phase was supposed to last two weeks – but it ended up being twelve weeks. The previous year our garage flooded because the curb outside the house was removed and we live at the bottom of a slope. This new drain looks like a good job and hopefully it will prevent flooding but we won’t know for sure until it’s finished and we have a heavy downpour.”
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Part owner Ian Davies is on the street who temporarily lost a large part of his garden for the construction. A small part is lost permanently.
Although Ian has received some compensation he said he had to fight “tooth and nail” to get justice. He said: “We have known about this for the last 10 years. We started negotiating with a company that was originally going to do the work. The figures were passed around, which were much higher than what we had. They lost the contract with Future Valleys.
“Three years ago in August they told us they would build the land in a week. They explained what would happen and offered compensation for nothing.
“They took about 60% of the garden – they’ve brought a lot of that back. Within that 60%, 10% [will be permanently lost] with the shape of the road. Compared to the amount of money originally promised they came back with a figure of less than 10% and then we had to fight and fight and fight for them to raise that a little bit.”
Although Ian said he is happy that the amount is closer to what he believes is fair, he hopes lessons can be learned from the Cefn Coed situation. He said: “To me, before they take any land or do anything, they should agree on proper timescales, proper compensation, and guarantee that everything will be put right – but they haven’t really done that.
“It’s been three years of not knowing and constantly fighting for a fair play, fighting to make sure they’re going to put everything right. I think the process is all wrong. They seem to accept first and then try to agree some sort of package afterwards.
“They give you the basic level for everything and then you have to fight tooth and nail to get what you think is fair. When you’re in a fight, you feel like a financier and we just want to put everything neatly back to where it was.
“To be fair after some crying they seem to be sorting things out now. However, it was a long and difficult process and they should probably be bought compulsorily [these properties].”
He said he feels for people who live in the area who may be older or more vulnerable or do not have the confidence or representation to fight as he has. He said: “At the end of the day we all have lives to live and we don’t have time to be fighting like this all the time but I feel for people who have none maybe like the elderly to represent them. .”
A Welsh Government spokesman, who was also responding on behalf of Future Valleys, said: “We are working closely with individual residents to resolve their issues.”
