Travellers ordered to stop removing tons of earth from Welsh hillside

Blaenau Gwent council serves notice after residents complain work may cause landslip that would pose danger to community

A traveller group has been ordered to stop removing tons of earth from a hillside in the Welsh valleys over fears it could lead to disaster similar to Aberfan.
Concerns have been raised that the excavation being carried out with the use of  heavy machinery could lead to a landslip.The Aberfan mining disaster took place on October 21, 1966, which led to 144 deaths, including 116 children in the South Wales village. 
It is unknown why the travellers, living in six caravans and one motorhome on the site, are digging up the valley, but nearly 900 residents have signed a petition opposing the “unauthorised occupation” of the land.
Angela Hathaway commented on the online petition: “Why should people ride roughshod over planning regulation? If and when that land slips it will be the taxpayer picking up the tab. The council must act now and stop these unauthorised land works.”
Jamie Nicholson, a resident, said: “This is not just morally wrong but the risk of road collapse due to close excavation is massively increased.
“This is a very busy road they are digging alongside.”
The group is fighting back by creating a GoFundMe page asking for help.
Luke Salathiel wrote: “Our family and kids need somewhere to live to raise our family. The council is not providing us with the right needs so we are doing our own property up which we are entitled to do. We are sick of living in need.” 
 
But Blaenau Gwent council served a notice to the group on April 5 in the wake of the complaints.
It is believed that the group started removing the earth from a sloping field on Porters Road in Nantyglo, south Wales, on March 27.
A stop notice has now been put in place due to concerns about a breach of planning rules, which lasts for 28 days, and the local authority said that it was “considering options for when it expires”.
In a statement online, Jasmin Bell said: “This issue is not merely a question of legality; it directly impacts our lives, devalues our properties and infringes on our privacy.”
She went on to say that the “encroachment” could decrease the value of their properties by up to 20 per cent. Ms Bell added: “This situation is not only financially damaging but also emotionally distressing as we feel that our right to privacy is being violated.
“We believe that everyone has the right to live peacefully without fear of unlawful encroachments on their property or invasion of their privacy.”
She called on local authorities to act immediately.
A Blaenau Gwent council spokesman told BBC: “We consider that there has been a breach of planning control by the unauthorised excavation of this land. This includes importation of material, creation of embankments and re-profiling of the area. The notice requires that the activity specified is stopped with immediate effect.”
Gwent Police was contacted for comment.
Yvonne Bell, 55,  in an interview with the Daily Mail, added: “There are old mine shafts under our houses. We’ve had non-stop rain for months and now the land supporting our road and houses have been stripped away.
‘‘We are worried sick that what they’ve done could cause another Aberfan [disaster].”