Residents to HSE: let demolition contractors finish what they started
Residents near a half-demolished South Wales factory are calling on safety officials to hurry up and let demolition contractors finish the work they had begun.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) called a halt to the demolition on Maesteg's old Budelpack Cosi site this month, after the discovery of asbestos cement on site. Local people are fed up with the delay, however, and just want to see work completed on what they have taken to calling 'Ground Zero.'
Steve Jones of Bridgend Road, Garth, said the stopping of the work has left the site, on Maesteg’s Ewenny Road Industrial Estate, as a potential "death-trap" for local children and is calling for all involved to hurry up with the asbestos removal.
“I’m extremely concerned about what is happening," he said. "There has been no activity for three weeks and with the summer holidays coming up it’s a fear that children will go and explore and it’s really dangerous.”
He said scavengers are already trawling through the ruins in search of scrap metal they can sell on and security guards have been threatened on a number of occasions.
In February, it was revealed that Bridgend County Council was hoping to buy the 20-acre site with the help of Welsh Assembly Government cash before selling it on as smaller parcels for development.
The HSE said it would investigate what work was currently underway and would keep the residents informed.
