Newport residents quiz minister over incinerator and Gipsy sites

Following the attention that the proposals for three planned Gipsy sites in Nash attracted before the city council decided to go back to the drawing board in its consultation, travellers from the current Gipsy site in Nash attended the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting held on July 7 at Nash Community Hall, Traveller, Rona Price, said: "We want to pay our way and be treated exactly the same as other people.

"The site we are on is unsafe. I do not want to be there but we have no where else to go."

Residents agreed that the site was not suitable as it is in the flood plain.

In response, Newport East AM Mr Griffiths said that this is exactly why there needs to be proper sites established in Newport.

A further concern voiced is that the village is small and rural and having to put roads and street lights in to accommodate the sites would change its rural nature.

Residents then took the opportunity to raise concerns about plans to build an incinerator at Llanwern Steelworks.

Mr Griffiths said: "There’s a lot of damage that comes from landfill and there’s tax coming in so we have to move away from landfill.

"The question is what we can’t recycle or reuse, what do we do with it?"

Concerns were raised in regard to health issues and Mr Griffiths reassured that developers and local authorities will work together to address these, along with the Environment Agency.

He added: "People will have opinions on health risks but government have to take advice from a scientific view."

Following the meeting, resident Richard Dare added: "It seems to me that we are the dumping ground for Gwent."

He explained with the previously-proposed Gipsy sites, incinerator and the plans for the M4 relief road that would cut through the Gwent Levels is too much for their community.

He said: "I have health concerns regarding the incinerator and the increase in pollutant brought in to the air if this motorway gets put in."