AN ABERYSTWYTH mother has spoken of her upset at finding a favourite wildlife spot “destroyed unnecessarily” by construction works.

Ellie Jones, from Penparcau, said she was shocked to discover a meadow and path, next to the Dwr Cymru water treatment works near Glanyrafon Industrial Estate, had been flattened, covered with gravel and fenced off.

“It’s just really upsetting,” Mrs Jones told the Cambrian News. “I sometimes read about vandalism, but to my mind the worst cases are the legalised kind, when wildlife areas are destroyed unnecessarily.”

In December 2014, Ceredigion County Council gave Dwr Cymru permission, subject to conditions and valid for five years, for improvement works at the site, including the construction of a new centrifuge and polymer makeup building.

Mrs Jones said the land was a wildflower meadow and wildlife corridor before construction works began.

The notice of planning states that if bats or nesting birds are encountered during construction, then work should stop, but it does not mention the importance of the meadow.

“I hadn’t taken the kids and dog for a while because of winter, and we went there the other day to find the route blocked, and that lovely path and meadow built on just for storage."

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water said the land in question belongs to them and has not been identified as a wildflower meadow, and that they take their environmental responsibilities “very seriously”.

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