Earlier this week, Huw Irranca Davies MS (Lab, Ogmore) spoke in the Senedd on the confusion surrounding the ownership of the Garw Valley community path and the responsibility for maintaining it.
The path runs from Parc Calon Lan in Blaengarw to Bryngarw Country Park and is a popular cycling and walking route.
A large section of the former railway remains and is run by a heritage Garw Valley Railway Company (who are considering/have considered extending it to Tondu). There are other interested parties too including Sustrans (the walking and cycling charity) the Crown Estate and Bridgend Council.
A petition to the Senedd calling for the land to be aquired so it can be properly maintained has been launched by Cllr. Roz Stirman (Ind, Llangeinor). You can view and sign the petition here. It’s already crossed the threshold needed to be discussed and considered by the Senedd’s Petition Committee, but if the petition manages to get over 10,000 signatures it will trigger a full debate.
Â
“….(the) maintenance responsibility and public liability accountability falling between various stakeholders and the local authority, and the former and now defunct groundwork organisation….and the Crown Estate too. So, as of this moment, this vital community wildlife and recreation corridor risks falling into disrepair because no-one is able to step up and take responsibility for it.”
– Huw Irranca-Davies MS
Huw Irranca-Davies went on to say that he’s arranged a meeting with the interested parties to agree on a way forward, but he sought a debate on the issue in the Senedd to “encourage a resolution to this long-running saga”.
The Trefnydd (Leader of the House), Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham), said the member could use a short debate to raise the issue (and Huw Irranca-Davies has one scheduled soon). There were complex legal issues involved, though one option mentioned to resolve the issue is a compulsory purchase.
