Flagship net zero homes will be built on former tip

HUNDREDS of homes earmarked for farmland near a Welsh beauty spot will be built on top of a former tip where asbestos and arsenic have been detected.

- TED PESKETT

The Welsh Government announced recently that it agreed a contract with developers Barratt Redrow for the delivery of 576 homes on land at Upper Cosmeston Farm, near Penarth and Cosmeston Lakes.

It's hoped the scheme will help address a shortage of homes in the Vale of Glamorgan and it is being called the largest net-zero housing development in the UK.

However a map on the Welsh Government’s website shows that the construction site includes a landfill site.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) wrote to Vale of Glamorgan council to give its thoughts on the plans in October 2023. At the time, it said there are “unknown potential pollutants” on site and that the severity of them is “presently unknown”.

It did add that the areas previously used for landfill will not be disturbed and that all works will be subject to a construction and environmental management plan (CEMP).