Walk Around Wales

In April 2020, Neath Port Talbot and Glynneath Town Councillor Del Morgan was informed of Neath Port Talbot Council planning department malpractice that potentially breached the 1990 Environmental Protection Act. Contamination above recognised safe levels was hidden at the Heol y Glyn site which contravened the Neath Port Talbot Council's Contaminated Land Strategy. This breach of council rules has potentially placed the lives of Glynneath residents at risk of death since 2009. In September 2020 Councillor Morgan was provided hard copy evidence of this prior to the planning committee meeting which he ignored.

He has yet to inform the Glynneath Town Council or Glynneath residents of the hidden contamination or council malpractice or use his powers as a Glynneath councillor to investigate the concerns of the community he represents.

In September 2020 Del Morgan and his fellow East Glynneath councillor Simon Knoyle were the only two residents who supported Enzo Homes, Enzo is s developer who has a history of breaking planning conditions and who immediately broke the planning conditions at the Heol y Glyn site. Within two months the site was closed down by the council for the breach of 16 planning conditions and after 3 months Enzo negligence flooded properties in Brynhyfryd with potentially contaminated water.

Forty residents in total objected against the planning permission, Del Morgan was the only local resident who supported it, Simon Knoyle lives a distance away from the site.

The purpose of this video is to establish a timeline for Del Morgan's actions since being made aware of potential contamination and/or the tipping of potentially toxic chemical waste. Its purpose is, to make the public aware that information about suspected land contamination and potential illegal tipping by the Cuddy Group, was provided to Councillor Morgan and the Neath Port Talbot planning department as far back as 2016.

It is also an opportunity for Councillor Morgan to establish his motives for his actions by making a poublic statement based upon our titled question.

Why for example Councillor Morgan suggested the removal of the word 'suspiciously' from a communication with residents bordering the Cuddy Group site. Was he already aware of the council malpractice? Was he protecting Cuddy Group interests? Why?

TIMELINE
In 2016 the forerunner group to the East Glynneath Residents Against Contamination Group alerted local councillors Del Morgan and Eddie Jones to excessive tipping at the Heol y Glyn site and an enforcement order was placed on the Cuddy Group to prevent further tipping.

In January 2017 the Cuddy Group applied for planning permission to tip an additional 5 metres higher, despite there being clear safety concerns from residents about the current height in 2016.

Local councillors were again approached for support and the planning permission quashed but in light of recent information received the actions of one councillor in particular, Del Morgan has been brought into question.

The reason we are making our question public is because in our 2020 objection to the Enzo development Councillor Del Morgan has always refused to communicate with the East Glynneath Residents Against Contamination group, many of whom have elected him as a representative.

He was one of only two local people supporting the application (the other being Simon Knoyle) while 40 residents bordering the site were against it. He has hidden council malpractice that we believe has placed the lives of East Glynneath residents in danger and may have contributed to the death of some.

		On April 26th 2016, we as a group of East Glynneath residents approached councillors Eddie Jones and Del Morgan about excessive tipping by the Cuddy Group that we felt were threatening our safety. The following email was forwarded by the councillors to the Neath Port Talbot Council Planning Department.
		On April 28th Councillor Jones replied top say that an enforcement order had been placed on the Cuddy Group by the Neath Port Talbot Council.
		In January 2017 the Cuddy Group applied for planning permission to increase the height of their excessive tipping a further 5 metres. Considering the height was still the same as it was 8 months previously when the enforcement order was placed on the group, the proposed plans were evidently ridiculous in their concept but still put forward by the Neath Port Talbot planning department for approval.
		The draft of a letter to an extended group local residents was emailed to Councillor Del Morgan for his attention and possible input. The draft included information about the Cuddy Group using unusual methods of tipping which were deemed suspicious.
		What I was seeing from a vantage point on the Inter Valley road was a machine digging deep holes, lorries arriving and tipping into the holes and then the holes being filled over. It was clearly a cover up operation of one sort or another.
		A reply was received from Councillor Morgan suggesting the removal of the word 'suspiciously'
		I removed the word and other information in my communication to residents but since 2017 the following information has come to light which brings into question why Councillor Morgan would suggest to remove the word and not initiate an investigation into the activities of the Cuddy Group. Nigel Taylor lives overlooking the site and he was an eyewitness to similar tipping and also to barrels of chemical substances being tipped at the site.
		Nigel insists that he informed local councillors of Cuddy's activities including Del Morgan. Councillor Chris Williams, Del Morgan's fellow Plaid Cymru councillor lived two houses away from Nigel and his wife died an unnatural death living there. Councillor Williams moved from the area a short while after this and refuses to share information on the cause of her death. Councillor Williams is a member of planning committee who recently approved the planning permission for the Enzo development despite being made aware of hidden contamination at the site.
		If we look again at the paragraph in question again it shows that the Cuddy Group were acting suspiciously and as such I believe it would have been relevant to inform residents bordering the site of this so that they could have made an informed decision.
		At the time in question Del Morgan was an acquaintance, he was a member of the same pub quiz team and I sat next to him regularly. He attempted to recruit me for Plaid Cymru and in the next breath regale stories about watching the Ospreys in the hospitality section, he would mention about picking up his Ospreys tickets from an unspecified source which at the time seemed unusual. The Ospreys were owned at the time by the Cuddy Group. We would like an answer from Del Morgan to the following question. Based upon the information provided to you in 2017 and the additional information of which you were already aware at the time, for example, barrels of potential toxic waste at the site, unnatural deaths in houses bordering the site.
		Why did you suggest removing the word “suspiciously”?

20160426	cuddy tipping habits	20160426A-EM-GTCO-NPTC-eddie-jones - Email from Eddie Jones advising that he has submitted our email to NPTC [planning and enforcemnet action is being taken against Cuddy. Includes our original email to him which mentions flood risk and Aberfan height of tip. - CLICK HERE
20170122	Del Morgan suspiciously	20170122A-EM-DMOR-RICD-suspiciously - return email from Del Morgan suggesting the removal of 'suspiciously' - CLICK HERE

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