Upon arrival at the road turn off that takes us directly to the slope, we discovered that Caerphilly Council have erected a barrier, with a sign on it about fly tippers. So this public highway has been blocked off because Caerphilly council obviously cannot enforce the law regarding fly tipping, and so instead of them trying to catch the perpetrators and prosecute them, they have gone for the easy option of closing the road to car users.
This hasn't gone down at all well with the residents of Fochriw village who enjoy a walk along the top of the hill which affords beautiful views across the valley to the east and the Brecon Beacons to the north. The local paraglider club has also lodged a complaint as they regularly use this venue also. A little while ago one of their members had an accident on this hill and several ambulances had to attend along with the police. If the paraglider pilots are forced to leave their cars by the gate and walk up, and there was another accident, the emergency services would find it impossible to get close to the patient with their equipment. And on that same note, if the paraglider pilots and the model fliers, and the local walkers all park their cars on the road by the gate, it could have traffic consequences on the main road between Pontlottyn and Fochriw.
It appears that the council have taken this approach without really thinking about it and we await a decision by them to see whether the gate is to be removed or not.
