A DEVELOPER has pledged to improve its cleaning facilities after spraying mud across a road in Dinas Powys.

Barratt Homes are building 215 new homes in the south-east of Dinas Powys, on the former site of St Cyres School. The development connects to the entrance to Murch Road.

After complaints from residents of vehicles tracking mud from the site across the nearby Murch Road, Barratt have promised to introduce improved wheel washing facilities.

Plaid Cymru Community Councillor Chris Franks said residents had spoken to him to express their frustrations.

He said: “The mud has splattered cars and made the whole area dirty. It is also a hazard to pedestrians.

“It is illegal to deposit mud on the public highway. Why the Conservative/Independent Council has been so ineffective is beyond me.

“Not content with creating these awful conditions a trench has been excavated across the entrance to the busy Medical Centre.

“This resulted in the entrance being narrowed.The failure to engage with the Medical Centre is a disgrace.”

The trench excavation was carried out by the Gas Transportation Company Ltd in a separate development.

The medical centre used Facebook to warn residents attempting to access the site that contractors had partially blocked the entrance.

Plaid Councillor Richard Grigg said: “This site has been operational since last summer.

“It is only now that hopefully a decent wheel wash has been installed.

“Why has the County Council been so uncaring about this situation?

“They have a duty to protect the community.

“The site which was sold to the builders by the council for millions has been a real problem with huge contractors’ vehicles causing chaos on local roads. The planning process has totally failed Dinas Powys.”

Steve Williams, managing director of Barratt Homes South Wales, said: “We always strive to minimise the effects of construction and apologise to anyone who has been inconvenienced by work in Dinas Powys.

“We have a jet wash on site during opening hours to clean the tyres of vehicles leaving the development throughout the day.”

The construction is part of the Local Development Plan that will see 10,000 new homes built in the Vale of Glamorgan over the next eight years.

Planning permission had been granted in February 2018, despite criticisms of the impact that the new site would have on congestion in and around Dinas Powys, which, planning officers confirmed, is already at maximum capacity.

While acknowledging extra homes would generate more traffic, officers said increases would be negligible and traffic around Murch Road and Cardiff Road would be over capacity in several years regardless.