Trisha's Butty Hut and Cafe located in the village of Cefn Coed seemed busy for 11am on a Thursday. A group of local carers who regularly dine at the business were just finishing up breakfast as we arrived, filling the welcoming family-run eatery with life. But, as they left, owner Patricia Vivian said with a hopeless look on her face: "That's my trade gone for the day now. I might get one or two more people in if I'm lucky. Every day is a struggle."
Located just under two miles from Merthyr Tydfil town centre, Cefn Coed is the contained community to the right of the A470 before you head northbound into the Brecon Beacons National Park. For decades, the pubs, cafes, and shops in the community have benefited from being a popular pit-stop for motorists and cyclists who pass through.
However, in 2021 business came to a complete standstill for many owners because of the 11-mile stretch of major roadworks on the A465 which cuts through the village. Section five and six of the work spans from Dowlais Top to Hirwaun and is costing the Welsh Government £590million.
The main contract consists of transforming the three-lane 17km stretch of road between Dowlais and Hirwaun into a four-lane carriageway. The work isn't set to be completed until 2025.
Perhaps the most devastating aspect for business owners is that it saw the road bridge at the top of lower Cefn Coed High Street shut in September, 2021, for at least two years. It is set to re-open in September 2023. The bridge not only connects upper and lower Cefn Coed, but it is also the main route for motorists in and out of the village. The road is used to access the Brecon Beacons and the neighbouring village of Trefechan. You can get more local news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
In January 2022, WalesOnline visited the community. Business owners in lower Cefn Coed said the works had not only put a stop to their relied-upon passing trade, but had also made the route into the village longer for those living elsewhere. This, they said, had a major impact on footfall and the local economy. When we caught up with traders 12 months later in January 2023, they told us "nothing has changed". It is understood that at least one business has closed as a consequence.
Trisha said she opened her cafe in March 2020, and had to close straight away because of the coronavirus pandemic. She said she was elated when trade picked back up in summer 2021, only for the road bridge to close in September. It immediately cut her trade "from 30 a day to between five and 10". She said she purposely chose the venue as it had been a bustling eatery since the 1960s, she hoped it would continue to thrive and keep her financially stable through her retirement.
The 61-year-old said: "I'm the last [food] business when you go out of the village and the first one when you come back in. This is the trade I should be having - and I did start to have it up until the time the bridge shut. When the bridge first shut, I came in at 11am when it was supposed to be busy and nobody came through the door. It completely cut my trade - I was struggling then. I had to let my two staff members go as I didn't have the trade coming in."
In a bid to save the cafe, Patricia used her own cash on advertising. She wrapped her car, printed flyers and put up posters in surrounding areas. She said the endeavour had helped her to build a reputation, but that she still got no passing trade whatsoever. She said her situation had been exacerbated by the closure of two businesses near the bridge in the last year, meaning there was little reason for potential customers to venture up the high street.
She said: "Saturdays can be okay and on Sundays I do Sunday lunches. I am also lucky that the local carers support me - but it is a struggle. Since Cefn Stop 'N' Shop and Drovers Arms shut, there have been even less people coming up this way. There are a lot of different concerns.
"A while after the bridge shut they put a bus stop outside my shop, but no buses come up here as they have nowhere to go. I used to deliver to Trefechan, but now it is cut off for me. Fuel prices mean it is no longer cost effective. These roadworks have affected the whole community. It was such a lovely place, Cefn. I used to see so many people out and about, but I don't see people anymore as they don't have a reason to come up here - it's like it has been shut off."
Patricia said that although she knew the roadworks would happen while setting up her cafe, she wasn't aware that the road bridge would close and have such a devastating impact. She said she asked Future Valleys about the possibility of compensation, but was told she was unlikely to be eligible.
She said: "I've been put into a difficult position. I came here from a smaller cafe and I thought this would be it until retirement for me. Our money went into it as it was a shell when we moved in. I tried to see if I could get compensation and my answer was 'no'. They said if I thought I had a good case to apply for compensation, I would have to go and get a solicitor. For me as a small business owner to have to find the money for a solicitor and fight a big company, I just let it go."
When we visited the village in January 2022, Tracy Gillman worked at Cefn Stop 'N' Shop. The convenience store has since closed as a result of the impact the work has had on trade, it is understood. It was located at the top of High Street opposite the Drovers Arms, which has also closed within the last 12 months. Bizarrely, a road sign positioned outside the two businesses reads "businesses open as usual". There is a second sign placed at the bottom of the main street.
Speaking last year, Tracy said the shop had reduced its stock due to the falling footfall. Since its closure, the now 50-year-old works at Cefn Newsagents. Like Patricia, she said the community was still struggling.
She said: "You can't get out of Cefn. My friend lives in Trefechan and whereas we used to be able to just go up the road and take a right, she walks down to us now because it's a mile out of your way to get anywhere now. It's about the same as last year and it's a nuisance. We deliver papers to Trefechan and it's added an extra mile to get around to it. They put a sign at the bottom of the street saying businesses open as usual but that's it."
Paula Davies owns Cefn Tea Rooms, located in the middle of High Street. She said she believed she had it slightly easier than businesses at the top of the street, as her business was located near a junction. However, her overall trade had been cut by a third since the bridge closed, she said.
"It hasn't really changed since last year - we still have the village cut off," the 52-year-old said. "I should think it's worse at the top than it is here as I've got the junction, but people tend to avoid that road because of the traffic. You have the traffic coming from Hirwaun and Aberdare and the roundabout gets really clogged up.
"We haven't got any through traffic anymore, whereas we used to have the traffic from Brecon coming through the village. You have to go through the ring road now, and once you're on the ring road you don't want to get off because you have to get back in the traffic. We used to get all the bikers going to and from Brecon, but we get none of that now.
"Our trade has been reduced by a third. We're lucky because we have locals who rely on us and there's a lot of old people in the village who use this as a stop-off point for coffee. Particularly with the weather being cold at the moment, people come in here to warm up and have a chat. We're assuming the cost of living will also have an effect - it's still early days yet. People have just gotten over Christmas, so we're waiting for the impact of that."
Like many of the other businesses, Paula said she had also stopped delivering meals to Trefechan as a result of the work. She added that it could take around an hour to get from lower Cefn Coed to upper Cefn Coed, where the cemetery was located. She said: "Cefn Coed cemetery is an issue because you can't go over the bridge anymore. You have to go back on the A465, onto the A470 bypass, back off the bypass and into the cemetery. On a Friday that could take you an hour or an hour-and-a-half."
Mandy MacMillan lives in Pearce Court at the top of the High Street, just yards from the works. The 46-year-old said her family had experienced a plethora of issues since the project started that affected her family's quality of life.
She said: "The disruption of it has affected our lives. It's mainly the noise of it - we do night shifts at the NHS and sometimes we can't sleep in the day. It's so close to the house that you can feel the whole house vibrate and you can hear the HGVs going past. While they were pile driving, a piece fell off our garage because of the vibrating - cracks have also appeared on the house.
"There has been lots of dust. My son has asthma and he has been having trouble because we've had thick black dust. We've also had trouble with water coming into the garage because of the works [because there's no pavement in front of the house to stop it], so they've put sandbags in front of it to stop that happening.
"To catch the bus to school, my son needs to go to the bottom of Trefechan, whereas it used to stop outside the house up the high street. The bus used to be regular, but now sometimes it doesnt even turn up for him. [Welsh Government] said we can claim and they have given us leaflets and paperwork to look through and claim, but we have to get a solicitor and we can't afford that. None of us have been offered a compulsory purchase order.
"I don't think the works are worth it. for the disruption I don't think it's going to make a massive difference. I think if they did it to begin with, it would have been worth it as there have been lots of deaths on this road."
Ann and Daryl Wilkins live nearby to Mandy in Pearce Court, with their back garden located just a few yards from the development. The couple, who are in their 70s, said several of their home's windows had blown as a result of the vibrations coming from the work, while cracks had also appeared in the walls. They said at times noise coming from the pile drivers had been so loud, they could feel their whole home shake and they struggled to hear each other speak. Although they have been offered temporary accommodation while the work is carried out, the couple said it wasn't a suitable option for them.
In autumn, the couple said their frustration came to a head, leading them to take matters into their own hands. Ann said: "The dumpers were parking outside the drive and you couldn't get out so I asked them to move. Then I noticed they blocked a car up the road. [My neighbour] said she didn't know how long they would be there. I pulled my car out so far that they couldn't pass - we blocked the road. This was about three months ago and it's been a lot better since we did that."
To make matters worse, Daryl said he believed his health had been impacted by the work. He said: "I have asthma and I have been to the doctors and been put on steroids around four or five times since it started. Before that I would go once every 18 months to two years. I think the stress of it all is a trigger for me as well."
He added: "We accept the work has to be done, but it feels like there is no thought for the people. From the beginning nobody has ever knocked my door and said: 'If you have any problems, any trouble, come and see me'."
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Improving the A465 between Dowlais Top and Hirwaun is a long-standing commitment. It is a challenging project which sometimes involves complex heavy engineering in the heart of the community, as is the case with the works at Cefn Coed, but we thank residents for their patience while the works are ongoing. The new road will improve road safety and traffic flow in the area and support economic regeneration, while considering the impact on the environment. The project remains on target to be completed by 2025.”
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