High Court orders traveller families to stop digging out Welsh hillside after residents feared landslip

Traveller families have been stopped from digging out a hillside after a council won a High Court injunction.

Villagers feared a landslip when tonnes of earth were excavated. The land was recently bought by a traveller group but no planning permission had been sought for the site.

Hundreds of residents had signed a petition against the work in Nantyglo, Gwent, which began in April 2024.

Blaenau Gwent council served a temporary stop notice and has now secured an interim order against further excavation.

A fundraising page purporting to be from one traveller said they were doing the work because the “council is not providing us with the right needs” adding: “We are doing our own property up which we are entitled to do.”

Yvonne Bell, 55, who launched the petition, said some of the elderly residents had been terrified when the digging was going on and were scared to open their curtains.

“That’s just not fair on any of us, we refuse to live in fear,” she said.

Another local, Anna, said she had been threatened over her views regarding the work.

She said: “There have been no safety measures and a lot of ground has been taken away, which supports the very busy road above.

“It’s a very scary time for the residents and there have been comments circulating on social media about hoping the houses have good insurance.”

Land registry documents show there is covenant on the land and says it can only be used for grazing.

The injunction will remain in place until a court hearing in June.