Clearing up after storms Eunice and Franklin hit the county borough

Crews from Bridgend County Borough Council attended several hundred incidents of blocked culverts, flooding, fallen trees, broken branches, obstructed roads, demolished structures, damaged roofs and more after the county borough was hit by storms Eunice and Franklin in quick succession over the weekend.

With all weather warnings now lifted, work has started on clearing away any remaining storm damage. At Warwick Close in Porthcawl, snagged branches are being cut down and removed so the footway can be reopened, while fallen tree debris is being cleared at Green Acre and Heol Fawr in Cornelly.

Along the A4064 between Brynmenyn and Llangeinor, hoists are being used to remove snagged branches and fallen debris, and culverts are being unblocked along the ‘key-hole’ bends of the A4061 Bwlch mountain road.

Damaged boundary signs are being removed at the A4093 White Bridge near Glynogwr, and checks are underway to see if accumulated debris can be safely removed from the arches of the Dipping Bridge at New Inn Road.

Any remaining storm debris caused by waves and high tides is being cleared, and sandbags are being collected from properties where they were put in place as a precautionary measure.

Numerous buildings experienced damage to their roofs during the storms, including the Evanstown Community Centre, the Porthcawl Hotel in John Street, commercial premises located at Queen Street in Bridgend town centre, and homes in areas such as Ffald Road in Pyle.

Working alongside South Wales Police and the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, a number of temporary road closures were set up to help keep people safe, including at Queen Street in Bridgend and John Street and Lias Road, both in Porthcawl.

While Queen Street and Lias Road are reopening later today, John Street remains closed until further notice to allow building inspections to be completed.

At Maesteg, the A4063 was temporarily closed after a tree fell and brought down power cables. South Wales Police and Western Power attended the scene and ensured that it could reopen safely.

The Bwlch A4061 mountain road was temporarily closed, but has since reopened. Before the storm arrived, around 3,500 sandbags were prepared, and crews have delivered these to help protect local homes and properties throughout the county borough. Around 800 were deployed at Beach Road and West Drive in Porthcawl to prevent storm water from overtopping sea defences and reaching houses.

As recycling and waste collections could not go ahead on Friday, residents have been advised to store their recycling until their next scheduled collection day. Kier have clarified that they will pick up open carrier bags of excess materials if households have large amounts to put out.

With community recycling centres now reopen, Kier have also confirmed that any refuse or absorbent hygiene product bags not collected on Friday will be picked up on Saturday 26 February to ensure that residents do not have to wait another two weeks between collections.

Normal collection schedules resumed on Monday morning in the Maesteg area where street cleansing teams have been dealing with any litter caused by high winds during the last few hours of Storm Franklin.

Libraries, leisure centres and day centres for adults have also reopened.

Storms Eunice and Franklin have made themselves felt all across the UK, and I am grateful to our council workers and emergency services for everything that they have done to limit its impact here in Bridgend County Borough.

While most of us were safe at home, council workers once more braved the worst of the severe weather to support local communities and keep people and properties safe.

They are still out there now, clearing away the damage and getting the county borough up and running again, and I know that I speak on behalf of us all when I say that their efforts are greatly appreciated.

Councillor Stuart Baldwin, Cabinet Member for Communities