Road threat to wild Welsh gorge

Plans to blast a 5-lane highway through a beautiful valley have split a community, reports Mark Rowe

IT IS known as Britain's "capital of waterfalls". But Clydach Gorge, a three-mile haven of wildlife in South Wales, is under threat from the road developers.

The Welsh Office has proposed a pounds 250m scheme to upgrade a 25-mile stretch of the A465 from Abergavenny to Hirwaun known as the Heads of the Valleys road. Where it cuts through the gorge, the road will be expanded from three to five lanes, a development requiring extensive blasting of limestone rock.

The Welsh Office and supporters insist the gorge will not be greatly affected, that the scheme will revitalise the local economy - the nearby mining village of Brynmawr, is ranked among the poorest in Wales, with 13 per cent unemployment - and make a dangerous road with a high accident rate much safer. Local campaigners think otherwise.

The gorge is a delight, cutting deep through the rocks of the South Wales coalfield between Brynmawr and Gilwern. It is a wild place, with nature left to itself, where you must scramble over fallen trees to make your way. Britain's oldest beech wood, which has survived some 14,000 years, clings to the side of the gorge forming the Cwm Clydach nature reserve. Vast swathes of wild garlic leave a pungent odour in the air. There are 17 waterfalls, the most spectacular being the dramatic 60ft falls at Devil's Bridge.

Disused ironworks, a derelict railway and intricate bridges are testament to the time from the 18th century to 1877 when, as part of the industrial revolution, trade in lime and iron made this particular Welsh valley into a thriving community; one that employed 1,350 people in 1841. Iron-age forts crown the surrounding hills.

The existing A465, built in 1966, is never far away, though, with the noise of juggernauts droning through the ancient woodland. "They say all this will be unaffected by the blasting and the new road," said Greg Suff, chairman of the Heads of the Valleys Alliance, which opposes the scheme. "But we don't believe them."

The Alliance members fear that flyovers, slip roads and road widening connected with the development will throw a concrete canopy over much of the gorge, disrupt the flow of several waterfalls and destroy many trees. They say blasting will disturb the fragile cave system around the gorge, which is home to the rare lesser horseshoe bat. "Bats are very susceptible to noise and vibration. They could just fly off and be lost forever," said Mr Suff.

The cost of the road improvement would be better spent in other ways, he said. "If there was any kind of effort to promote this place you'd get stacks of people coming here."

There are also social concerns. "This is not just about a few trees," said Mr Suff. "There are a whole range of reasons why this shouldn't go ahead. Noise and pollution levels will increase, the road will become more dangerous. Houses are already suffering from planning blight."

A local vicar, the Rev Mary Turnock, said the "benefits" of improved roads would pass communities by. "Local regeneration is hardly going to be helped by allowing travellers to avoid all the local communities," she said.

A public inquiry next month will deal with the first phase of the development from Abergavenny to Gilwern at the foot of the gorge, but campaigners believe that if permission is granted for this stage, then approval at a later date for the crucial section through Clydach Gorge will be a formality. The inquiry is expected to last six weeks. The Alliance is pinning its hopes on the current review of road building in Wales, to be published in the next couple of months.

Support for the scheme has come from some unlikely quarters. The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority has endorsed the development, though with some reservations. "We understand how important it is for the economic development of the valleys," said Eric Bowles, head of development plans at the park.

"We're supporting it in principle but we want to keep it as close as possible to the existing route. Ideally we wouldn't want this. We can't say the trees or the bats won't be affected. It's a question of how badly affected they are and what the alternatives are."