§ Mr. Watkinsasked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the damage by blasting by contractors engaged on the Heads of the Valley road at Clydach Gorge; how many of the trees protected by agreement were destroyed; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MarplesWhere the new Heads of the Valleys Road passes through the Clydach Gorge it is located on a shelf cut into the steep rock slope. Its construction has inevitably involved blasting.
57WTo preserve the amenities of the Gorge, the contractor was required to arrange his blasting operations and restrict the weights of charges so as to prevent, as far as possible, rock falling into the river and to avoid damage to nearby trees. All reasonable care has been taken to reduce damage to the minimum but, because of the nature of the rock and the steepness of the site, it has been impossible to avoid some rock falling into the river and damage to some trees. The damage to the trees by flying rock is not dependent upon the weight of the explosive charges; it is not the heavy charges in deeper holes that cause the damage but the lighter trimming shots.
After completion of blasting the forestry expert who had been appointed at my request by the Consulting Engineers to advise them examined the trees standing between the new road and the river. He reported that, quite apart from the blast damage, most of the trees were well past their prime and were beginning to die off; on silvicultural grounds it was doubtful whether any of them would flourish; although each was examined in the hope that some might be preserved, none was found worth retaining; in their damaged and decaying condition they would only detract from the beauty of the well wooded bank on the other side of the river. These trees, some 50 in all, were therefore removed.
Special care has been and will continue to be taken to avoid permanent damage to the amenities in the Gorge by the construction of the new road and I will take any steps necessary to achieve this with the advice of my Advisory Committee on the Landscape Treatment on Trunk Roads.