FURIOUS residents of a cul-de-sac cut off from their homes when a bridge was closed six months ago have filed a complaint against Newport City Council over its handling of the situation.
It comes just a week after residents of Forge Mews, in the Bassaleg area of the city, slammed the council’s plans to close the emergency entrance to their street off the A467 bypass.
Those living on the street were left effectively stranded last August when Newport City Council hastily closed Old Bassaleg Bridge – the only vehicle access to Forge Mews – over concerns it was near collapse.
The local authority initially urged residents at the time to leave their homes until a temporary emergency entrance point was created off the A467 bypass.
Now, residents have confirmed to the Argus that they are planning to launch a further complaint through a public sector ombudsman against Newport City Council if they fail to respond to their the current complaint.
They said closing the current emergency entrance would have a "massive impact" on their day-to-day lives.
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Resident Alison Williams confirmed that their grievances have been received by the council’s complaints department this week.
“We had a response from the complaints office on Tuesday acknowledging our grievances,” she said.
“They’ve said we now have to wait up to five working days for a response – which would take us to next Tuesday.
“The council has said that if we don’t get a response in that time frame that we should email, and they’ll chase it up.
“But as far as I’m concerned, if we don’t hear anything by Tuesday next week, then we will ask for stage two of the complaint and tell the council we are then proceeding to the ombudsman.”
When the emergency entrance to Forge Mews closes, residents will be expected to park their cars on nearby Viaduct Way and walk across Old Bassaleg Bridge – which has since reopened to pedestrians – to their homes.
At the time, many people living on Forge Mews said that the council had not consulted residents on any of its plans.
One of their biggest fears is that the decision will caused considerable difficulty for services such as carers, plumbers, and electricians to get to Forge Mews – as no direct access will be available.
The Argus has approached Newport City Council for comment.
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