Fontygary Park owner refutes fly tipping claims on land

It was described by some locals as a “waste mountain”, while Natural Resources Wales and Vale Council enforcement officers were at the scene of land owned by Fontygary Parks Ltd, ordering the removal of thousands of tonnes of building waste.

It was feared the waste, described as concrete, soil and rubble left on about half an acre of land, was leaking into local water courses and a danger to holiday park users.

However, the owner of the holiday park, Tim McIlveen has spoken out, saying the waste has not been fly-tipped - rather that he is storing the material to be used for future planning projects on the holiday camp.

Mr McIlveen has permission to build a new cycle path on his land and is planning to put in further applications to improve the land.

But now there is a serious spanner in the works, with NRW serving a Statutory Notice requiring removal of the waste after an exemption allowing the waste to be stored expired.

Mr McIlveen, whose family have run 100 acres of pristine land on the Rhoose coastline for decades, says he wants to use the waste to expand the park, with a planning application currently being prepared. 

But now NRW has said the waste must be removed by June.

“We do not know what we are going to do at the moment because it will cost thousands to remove,” said Mr McIlveen.

“If we get a planning application this year it would be a result.”

The "mountain of waste" on Fontygary Parks site locals are concerned about

Vale Enforcement on the scene of 'mountain of waste'

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said they were working with NRW to address the issue.

“Council Waste Crime Unit officers visited Fontygary Leisure Park following concerns raised by local councillors regarding large deposits of waste on land there.”

Enforcement officers at the scene, which Mr McIlveen said he was not aware about at the time

Park owner: 'Local people are anti anything being done'

Mr McIlveen has pleaded with all parties to be patient and allow for improvements to take place.

“There is 70 acres which is a bit of a blot on the landscape, but a lot of local people are anti-anything being done,” said Mr McIlveen. “What we are trying to do is suggest compromise between the local people and the company."

Mr McIlveen insisted he did not want to put houses on the land.

“The local people think we are going to put houses on – we have no wish to do that," he said. "All we have wanted to do is expand our tourist operation to what the council want to see, which is a smallish tourist destination, and for the rest of the land to be looked after better and enhanced.”

Right now, the Fontygary Parks owner is unsure what he will do moving forward.

“My next plan is to go back to NRW and say can we come up with an agreement, can we have a new exemption, or whatever we need to do to sort out this problem,” said Mr McIlveen.