Bid to beat Burry Port drug problem
It's back to the trenches in Burry Port to beat a drug habit.
The trenches have been excavated by Carmarthenshire Council to protect land on the fringes of the Millennium Coastal Park at Burry Port because of reports of its use by drug users and dealers.
Residents in Heol Vaughan and Tanbryn have complained to Carmarthenshire Council of cars gathering at night on land between Shoreline Caravan Park and Ashburnham Golf Club.
They claim scores of cars and local youngsters are involved.
They are driving their vehicles on to the land and leave behind evidence of drug taking paraphernalia including bags full of needles that have been recovered and handed in by residents.
The land is the part of the Pembrey Harbour system built almost 200 years ago (1819) that was filled in by the former Burry Port Urban Council as an incinerator land fill and domestic tipping site in the early 1970's.
The land has been earthed and grassed over and has had limited leisure use. At one time Ashburnham Golf Club were interested in taking it over and developing it as a golf range.
The land is part of the county's asset management portfolio. Following a meeting with local councillors, police and residents it was decided the quickest solution would be to circumnavigate the accessible land with a trench and bank bunding to prevent vehicular access.
A council spokesman said: "This is the quickest and cheapest solution. Fences when erected are destroyed or vandalised. Vehicle access to the land will be allowed through a locked gate which will be easily managed by the council and police.
"The problem has been the land has been accessible to vehicles from many directions and when police have been called it has been easy for drivers to evade capture because of multiple rat run escape routes."
Millennium Coastal Park manager Rory Dickinson said the trench and bank defence solution had been successfully engaged elsewhere within the MCP and at Pembrey Country Park.
He said: "A trench on its own is easily bridged with planks. However, if the spoil is used to create a bank it makes it impenetrable to even 4x4 vehicles.
"The other advantage is there is minimal maintenance because the bank attracts wild flowers which themselves become an environmental feature through the seasons."
Some residents have asked for vertical post defences but there are expensive to maintain and can easily be pulled out of the sandy ground.
The trenches have been excavated by Carmarthenshire Council to protect land on the fringes of the Millennium Coastal Park at Burry Port because of reports of its use by drug users and dealers.
Residents in Heol Vaughan and Tanbryn have complained to Carmarthenshire Council of cars gathering at night on land between Shoreline Caravan Park and Ashburnham Golf Club.
They claim scores of cars and local youngsters are involved.
They are driving their vehicles on to the land and leave behind evidence of drug taking paraphernalia including bags full of needles that have been recovered and handed in by residents.
The land is the part of the Pembrey Harbour system built almost 200 years ago (1819) that was filled in by the former Burry Port Urban Council as an incinerator land fill and domestic tipping site in the early 1970's.
The land has been earthed and grassed over and has had limited leisure use. At one time Ashburnham Golf Club were interested in taking it over and developing it as a golf range.
The land is part of the county's asset management portfolio. Following a meeting with local councillors, police and residents it was decided the quickest solution would be to circumnavigate the accessible land with a trench and bank bunding to prevent vehicular access.
A council spokesman said: "This is the quickest and cheapest solution. Fences when erected are destroyed or vandalised. Vehicle access to the land will be allowed through a locked gate which will be easily managed by the council and police.
"The problem has been the land has been accessible to vehicles from many directions and when police have been called it has been easy for drivers to evade capture because of multiple rat run escape routes."
Millennium Coastal Park manager Rory Dickinson said the trench and bank defence solution had been successfully engaged elsewhere within the MCP and at Pembrey Country Park.
He said: "A trench on its own is easily bridged with planks. However, if the spoil is used to create a bank it makes it impenetrable to even 4x4 vehicles.
"The other advantage is there is minimal maintenance because the bank attracts wild flowers which themselves become an environmental feature through the seasons."
Some residents have asked for vertical post defences but there are expensive to maintain and can easily be pulled out of the sandy ground.
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