Cornelly Clean Up Gets Thumbs Up
Over 20 people from organisations throughout the Bridgend borough came together on Friday 3rd April in a mission to clean up Cornelly.
Representatives from South Wales Police, Communities First, Valleys 2 Coast, Keep Wales Tidy, Cornelly Scouts, Tenants Residents Association of Marlas (TRAM), Want 2 Work, and five offenders serving ‘Community Payback’ with the Probation Service met at 10am in a bid to rid the grassy walkway behind Lon y Cariadon of rubbish that has mounted there for over 5 years.
Bridgend AM Carwyn Jones also attended to help with the tidy and support the team.
Plans for the mass clean-up were actioned by Pyle PCSO Lesley Evans after deciding enough was enough. She said “The dumped rubbish was a real eyesore in the community, and totally unfair on local residents whose gardens are directly in front of the mess.” PCSO Evans contacted Communities First about the problem, who then set about recruiting volunteers to help pick up litter from the site.
Keep Wales Tidy got on board, providing litter pickers, black bin liners and themselves to tackle the tip on Friday. Residents from Lon y Cariadon also came out to help the twenty strong crew.
Some of the rubbish found on the site included a dumped stereo, a drum set, carpet, and bricks. By the end of the 2 hour tidy, the skip was full to the brim!
Project Officer Brian Jones from Keep Wales Tidy, who helped to coordinate the clean up said: “The team has worked really hard today, and it has been a pleasure to work with so many other community groups in Cornelly. We’re glad the tidy up has helped to make Lon y Cariadon a safer, cleaner environment for residents.”
PCSO Evans said: “After months of hard work and campaigning it’s been really satisfying to see everyone come together today to make a difference in the area, so a big thank you to Communities First for their organisation in making today such a success.
“There has been talk of extending the gardens for the residents or simply cordoning the area off, but we’ll be having a meeting with Network Rail as soon as possible to decide what the next step is for the land. It’s really important that the area isn’t neglected again.”