'Disgusting' mountain fence to go after backlash

A huge fence put up across a mountain and overlooking a beauty spot is to be removed after a public backlash.

The 2.1m (6ft 10in) tall steel fence - dubbed the "Great Wall of Clydach" by villagers - was erected without notice last month, along the Monmouthshire village's Pwll Du Road, spanning 200m (656ft).

It sits across the face of Gilwern mountain in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and close to the boundary of the UNESCO Blaenavon World Heritage site.

Locals claimed the galvanised steel structure with sharp spikes was "disgusting" and demanded its removal.

Monmouthshire County Council, which said it had to take action to stop people accessing the road - which has been closed to traffic on safety grounds for the past five years - has now agreed to replace it, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council has said it will use stock fencing instead and the posts at either end of the road, supporting the fence, will be reduced in height.

It will also be painted to blend in with the surrounding countryside.

Simon Howarth, independent councillor for Llanelly Hill, said he was pleased with the outcome, but was critical of the council's actions and costs involved, saying "we shouldn't have got here".

He said, at a recent meeting held at Clydach Village Hall, the council said it would be going out to tender to remove the fence, but costs would be in the region of £20,000.

At a public meeting held in April, the council confirmed the bill for putting up the fence was £40,000.

Howarth said: "Overall we are where we should have started, but around £50,000 to £70,000 worse off."

The councillor said he was also pleased the council intended to allow access to the backside of the fence, between it and the mountainside, for cyclists and pedestrians, as well as holding talks with farmers and landowners over access for moving stock from the Keeper's Pond end of the mountain road.

A council spokesman said: "Following a positive meeting, the local community and the council agreed with the proposal to reduce the height of the back line of the palisade fencing, replacing it with stock proof fencing and painting the reveals and pillars with a suitable colour to blend in with the landscape."

The council had said its previous measures to keep vehicles off the road, including gates and boulders, had failed as they had been damaged or removed, while a rockfall in 2023 had prompted it to commission a further report which suggested the road should be closed to people, as well as vehicles.

The report outlined alternatives including new footpaths over the top of the mountain and below the existing road, or rebuilding the road but moving the carriageway further back into the mountain, which the council had said would cost millions of pounds.

Farmer Wayne Elliot, who was involved in court action that ruled the council was responsible for the road, previously said he had been battling with the authority since 2020 to get it moved back, claiming "the farmers would help do it, they'd get it done in a week".

But a council spokesperson shut down this suggestion, saying it was "not going to happen".