Parts of a controversial ‘Hollywood sign’ welcoming people into a Welsh town which cost more than £130,000 have been ripped off and blown away by Storm Eunice.
The sign is located on a grassy bank to the side of the eastbound carriageway of the A40 on the way into Carmarthen from the direction of St Clears.
It displayed the words ‘Caerfyrddin’ and ‘Carmarthen’ and was erected in May 2021, two years after it was first given approval.
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The sign caused controversy due to its design, location and cost. It was part of a wider scheme which cost a total of £344,000. When pushed on the exact cost of the sign itself, Carmarthenshire Council confirmed it to be £136,000.
Now, less than a year after it was constructed and put in place alongside the A40, thousands of pounds worth of the sign is no longer there after several letters blew away on Friday as large parts of Wales, including Carmarthen, were battered by Storm Eunice.
Five letters were ripped off the sign by strong winds, so the Welsh portion of the display now reads ‘Caerfy’. 60 metal panels made up the sign in total, including those displaying the Welsh and English versions of the town’s name and several other gold, bronze and grey coloured decorative panels.
Taking into account the overall cost of the sign, each panel cost more than £2,200, meaning more than £10,000 worth of signage has been blown away.
When the sign was unveiled in May last year, it would be kind to say that the public’s response to the end result was mixed. Some labelled it an “absolute joke” and something that would “cause accidents while people slow down to take a look”. One local resident said it represented “a complete and utter waste of money”.
Others were more positive, however, with one person saying “I like it - not sure why so many are against it”, while another joked “at least it will give everyone something to look at every Saturday during the summer when sat in traffic jams”.
In the days after it was installed, some local councillors even expressed concerns about the sign. Councillor Alun Lenny, a former mayor and current resident of Carmarthen, defended the idea of the sign itself, pointing out that it was paid for by the Rural Development Fund with European money delivered by the Welsh Government. He did, however, admit that the finished product was not as he or others had expected.
“The idea of the sign is to promote Carmarthen and to inform passing motorists that the town is here, because our bypass system is too efficient and people just fly by,” said Mr Lenny. “A large sign would certainly do that. Unfortunately the sign is too parallel with the A40 and it has not turned out as anticipated.”
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Speaking on Monday after the sign was badly damaged, Mr Lenny and current mayor of Carmarthen, county councillor Gareth John, said as well as being another chapter in the chequered and short history of the sign, what happened on Friday could have actually endangered lives.
In a statement, they said: “As local members, we were horrified to see that Storm Eunice ripped several large metal letters off the so-called Hollywood sign below the Johnstown flyover. We have always questioned the location of the sign, funded in partnership with the Welsh Government’s Rural Development Programme as part of the Morfa Wetland scheme.
“While accepting that Storm Eunice brought very high gusts of wind, questions must be asked about why such a new and expensive sign should have disintegrated in this way. The flying metal could easily have damaged passing vehicles and endangered the lives of motorists and pedestrians. We’ve informed council officers of the damage and await a response.”
The council confirmed on Tuesday morning that the missing panels have been found nearby and they will be put back in their place, rather than be replaced by new panels.
The authority's head of regeneration, Jason Jones, said: “The area and sign has been assessed and secured. We are focusing on our clean-up and recovery operations following Storm Eunice now that the winds have started to subside and it is safe to do so. The missing letters have been retrieved and the sign will be made good as soon as possible.”
The ‘Hollywood sign’ was not the only thing in Carmarthen and its surrounding areas to bear the brunt of Storm Eunice. The council’s highways team received almost 300 calls on Friday and over the weekend reporting various issues, including fallen trees, branches, roof tiles and electricity cables.
King Street in Carmarthen town centre was closed off for several hours after material flew off the roof of a building and landed on the road, while damage was also caused to the clock tower near the market.
Meanwhile, Carmarthen Leisure Centre and the local museum in Abergwili remain closed days after the storm due to damage caused by high winds. Further east, a large sign on the M4 near Hendy was damaged, with a section of metal ripped away due to the force of the storm.
Throughout Carmarthenshire, bin collections were heavily disrupted due to closed roads and unsafe conditions. The council has said that crews are still playing catch-up from collections that were meant to take place on Friday and Saturday and expect the process to take a few days yet as some areas of the county remain inaccessible.
If residents’ waste has still not been collected by the middle of the week they are advised to contact the council directly on their website.
The leader of Carmarthenshire Council, Emlyn Dole, said: “Our priority as always is the safety of our staff and residents. I would like to thank all our staff who have worked tirelessly over the last few days and through the weekend responding to the difficult conditions, and to those who are managing the clean-up and recovery work now that the wind has started to ease. Our teams will now be able to assess the damage caused by the storm.
“Although we are over the worst of the weather, I am urging residents to be careful whilst driving, especially in the dark, as there could still be some trees, branches and other debris on the roads.”
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