Our homes shake and pictures fall off the wall when quarry blasts rocks

People living next to a quarry say their homes shake, pictures fall off the wall and their children are frightened each time huge rocks are blasted.

The residents in Glyncoch, near Pontypridd in south Wales, want blasting at nearby Craig yr Hesg quarry to be paused, because they are worried about their safety.

It comes after a blast at another quarry six miles away forced people to flee their homes as a torrent of water flooded them.

The operator of Craig yr Hesg, Heidelberg Materials UK, said it is confident in its safe operation and will continue to follow all regulatory requirements.

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating what happened at the Taff's Well quarry, near Cardiff, which resulted in damage to 15 properties.

It described what happened at the end of July as an "isolated incident".

Since being granted permission to expand its operations and continue quarrying at at Craig yr Hesg until 2047, residents say they have been left feeling angry and frustrated.

Claire Allen, 40, who was born in the village, said the vibrations and dust from the blasting has worsened in recent years.

"We shouldn't have to be anxious waiting in our own homes just for someone to blast our mountain up," she said.

"Some people have said photo frames have come off their walls, others have fallen over. It's horrible.

"The children are scared when it happens and the dust is really thick. You could polish in the morning and then the dust comes back. It affects people's chests as well especially ones with things like COPD and asthma."

Since hearing about the devastation caused by the blast at the Taff's Well quarry, Allen said it was "frightening".

"Only once it needs to happen and now it has happened and we don't need it to happen to another area," she added.

The HSE has described what happened as an "isolated incident" but it has yet to complete its investigation.

Heidelberg Materials UK's Area Director, Marius Klein, said: "We want to reassure local communities that each quarry's geological profile is unique. Craig-yr-Hesg quarry has a very different geological profile from the quarry in Taff's Well.

"Importantly, there are no comparable bodies of water either on the surface or below ground close to our site that would pose a flooding risk to our operations or to the community.

"In addition, as part of the planning process for the approved quarry extension, the location of mines and associated infrastructure was carefully assessed."

But people who are against the quarry's expansion said they want the government to intervene a until an investigation into the blast at Taff's Well is concluded.

"We're asking for an immediate suspension of all blasting until a full investigation is done," said one of Glyncoch's lead campaigners against the quarry's expansion, Chris Whiles.

After seeing the recent flooding incident, Whiles said he felt "traumatised" after years of worrying about something similar happening in his village.

"There were properties with rushing water up to about five foot. That's happened five, six miles from us due to a blast in a quarry.

"Next time, I don't want it to be Craig-yr-Hesg. I don't want that, I don't want my kids to go through that."

Whiles is among a group of residents calling for a pause on blasting at Craig yr Hesg and other quarries until the HSE has concluded its investigation at the Taff's Well site.

The MP for Pontypridd, Alex Davies-Jones, has also written to the Welsh government seeking safety reassurances.

She asked whether geological, hydrological and flood-risk assessments are up to date at the Craig yr Hesg site and whether the incident at Taff's Well will prompt an urgent review of safety arrangements at quarries located close to residential communities.

The Welsh government said it had received the letter but as the responsibility for the regulation of active mines and quarries lies with the UK government, it couldn't comment.

The UK government has been asked to comment.