Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet has approved community engagement plans to address local concerns raised around the Bryn Group, including the reestablishment of a liaison group consisting of residents and other stakeholders.
The Bryn Group, based in Gelligaer, operate a materials recovery facility, as well as a dairy farm, quarry and low carbon renewable electricity plant at the site. The site is complex with multiple operations and activities which are in part regulated by the Council’s Environmental Health and Planning teams and partly by Natural Resources Wales.
During a meeting held on 19th October, Cabinet members agreed to several measures to address concerns amongst the community around the work of Bryn Group. In addition to setting up a liaison group, Cabinet agreed to set up a dedicated webpage with information on the work of the regulatory bodies responsible for various elements of the site. Visits for Councillors and members of the public are also planned, for people to gain a better understanding of how the site operates.
Cllr Philippa Leonard, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Public Protection, said “The Council acknowledges concerns being raised by the local community and we give our assurance that these are being dealt with. We are committed to working in partnership with residents, local elected members and the Bryn Group to address such issues and Cabinet’s approval to progress these plans is the first step in this process.”
Jennifer Price, from Bryn Power Ltd, added “We welcome the restarting of the liaison group after such a long break. We hope that Councillors and members of the public will take the opportunity to visit the site. We are very interested to see if the web page will help to get information from the liaison group back to the community and the wider public in the Caerphilly borough”.
