Storm Eunice hits the county borough

Crews from Bridgend County Borough Council have been out since the early hours of Friday morning, working to keep roads open and homes, people and property safe during Storm Eunice.

With the red weather warning from the Met Office now moving to an amber alert, the severe winds are continuing to causing a number of problems throughout the county borough.

Numerous buildings have experienced damage to their roofs, 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 are being set up to help keep people safe, including at Queen Street in Bridgend and John Street in Porthcawl, which is closed to both pedestrians and vehicles due to falling roof tiles.

At Maesteg, the A4063 has been temporarily closed after a tree fell and brought down power cables. South Wales Police and Western Power are attending the scene.

The Bwlch A4061 mountain road and New Inn road bridge at Merthyr Mawr remain closed, and lane restrictions are in place on the M4 westbound near the Junction 37 exit for Pyle following the toppling of heavy goods vehicles. The Kenfig viaduct near Junction 38 of the M4 is also closed.

More than 3,500 sandbags were prepared in anticipation of the storm, and just under 800 have been deployed in areas such as Beach Road and West Drive in Porthcawl to prevent storm water from overtopping sea defences and reaching houses.

Although there were concerns over a potential ‘storm surge’ event during high tide, no water entered any of the properties, and workers are now clearing away any debris deposited by the large waves.

Elsewhere, crews are continuing to respond to calls about fallen trees, many of them in the southern part of the county borough and areas such as Garth Road in Maesteg.

Council staff are once more out in the worst of the severe weather, supporting local communities and working around the clock.

They will be out there when the storm has passed, helping to clear away the damage and get the county borough running again, and I also want to thank them for their efforts

Councillor Stuart Baldwin, Cabinet Member for Communities

Following a late-night assessment on Thursday evening, Kier confirmed that planned recycling and waste collections could no longer go ahead. Residents have been urged to store their recycling until their next scheduled collection day, and to use open carrier bags if necessary for any excess materials.

Kier also confirmed that any refuse or absorbent hygiene product bags not collected today will be picked up on Saturday 26 February, and that collections will return to normal next week. Community recycling centres remain closed for the day, but all Friday bookings will be honoured once the sites reopen.

Schools, libraries, leisure centres and day centres for adults all remain closed while the storm is underway.

Storm Eunice is proving to be one of the most disruptive and damaging that we have witnessed for some time, and I want to thank everyone who is out there working to keep people, homes and property safe.

Council Leader Huw David