When garden product manufacturer Mark Roberts built his six-foot wall outside his Caerphilly borough home in 2020 he had thought nothing of it. “It was a way to protect my home and it was for my privacy and security,” 62-year-old Mark told WalesOnline, proudly standing beside his wall at Aneurin Bevan Avenue in Gelligaer which he spent in excess of £5,000 building.
An unruly eight-foot conifer once stood there and was protruding through his old wall and into the pavement. “I’m proud of my home, I’m proud of my land. The estate is rundown and yet I try to do something nice and they try to destroy it.”
Frustrated ex-coal miner Mark is referring to Caerphilly council’s long-term plans to demolish the wall which protects his garden and home. The council wrote to Mark in October 2021, nearly two years after the wall was constructed, telling him someone had complained about the height of his wall. Following inspections by council officers he was then told the wall would need to be demolished.
