There are plenty of things that you'll be used to seeing when you approach a roundabout. Often there'll be an intimidatingly cluttered array of road signs, sometimes some uninspiring 1960s concrete art, and a few underwhelming trees - but how often do you see a full block of flats right in the centre?
That's the situation in Penywaun, between Aberdare and Hirwaun just south of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road. Waunllwyd flats sits square (or is that circle?) in the middle of a roundabout joining Lawrence Avenue to the west with Arfryn to the north and south. The block of flats makes a slightly unusual sight, with paths leading down from four sections of the roundabout.
There are nine flats in the block in total, two of which have entrances at 'street level,' if it can be described as that, and the remaining seven being behind the usual locked door with a buzzer.
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One resident, named Chelsea, spoke to WalesOnline about what it's like living in the flats: "It's a bit strange. I've lived here for two years, and you just get used to it."
Chelsea has a young daughter, and said it was "hard work" living on the roundabout, worrying about the traffic coming towards it at speed. "The cars come down the hill at a pace, and the school buses too, because there's a comprehensive nearby, so there's about 10 school buses," she said.
Chelsea said she wouldn't want to let her daughter play outside near the road, and "can't wait" to move somewhere else when she has her second child. As it's a roundabout, there isn't a formal road crossing, and cars can't be parked on the kerb next to the flats.
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