A HUGE fence put up across a mountain and overlooking a beauty spot is to be removed after a public backlash.
The 2.1 metre, or six foot, tall steel fence appeared suddenly and without warning across the face of Gilwern mountain in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and close to the boundary of the UNESCO Blaenavon World Heritage site in April.
Locals dubbed the 200m long galvanised steel structure with sharp spikes as the ‘Great Wall of Clydach’ and demanded its removal.
Monmouthshire County Council, which said it had to take action to stop people accessing Pwll Du Road that runs across the face of the mountain and has been closed to traffic on safety grounds for the past five years, has now agreed to replace it.
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.
Independent county councillor for Llanelly Hill, Simon Howarth, said he was pleased with the outcome but critical of the council’s actions and costs involved.
He said at a recent meeting held at Clydach Village Hall the council said it will 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.
Cllr Howarth said: “The fence is coming down. They did say they are going out to tender and the cost is around £20,000, which hasn’t gone done very well. We shouldn’t have got here.”
The fence line running through the middle of the road will be removed and replaced with 1.5m high stock fence while existing posts and embedded gates at either end, that aren’t visible and prevent access for vehicles will be retained.
Cllr Howarth added: “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 has said it will allow access to the backside of the fence, between it and the mountainside, for cyclists and pedestrians though some points still have to be made safe.
He also said the council will hold talks with farmers and commoners over access for moving stock from the Keeper’s Pond end of the mountain road, which he welcomed.
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 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 has suggested the road should be closed to people, as well as vehicles.
That also outlined alternatives including new footpaths over the top of the mountain, and below the existing road, and rebuilding the road but moving the carriageway further back into the mountain which the council had said would cost millions of pounds.
