Huge clean-up operation underway across the county borough following the impact of Storm Darragh

A huge clean-up operation is currently underway across Bridgend County Borough following major damage and disruption caused by Storm Darragh over the weekend.

The council’s highways teams are out clearing debris caused by fallen trees from routes and highways across the county borough, with the focus on clearing main routes initially and then working towards smaller roads and lanes.

Power outages in Betws, Llangynwyd and parts of Pencoed have affected many homes in the county borough. Utility companies have advised that power has now been restored to the Betws area with Llangynwyd and Pencoed expected to regain their supplies later today.

You can check the most up to date status of your power supply on the National Grid live power supply map online. while anyone who requires priority assistance can call 0800 6783105.

In the meantime, free hot meals have been made available at warm hubs for residents in the communities of Betws and Llangynwyd who have been without electricity since the storm.

Some schools that have been affected by the storm damage have remained closed or partially closed today. These include:

• Porthcawl Comprehensive and Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen (CCYD) – partial closures due to damage to part of the school roof.
• Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd and Betws Primary School have remained closed due to a power outages.

Assessments of other schools in the county borough have been undertaken and have been approved to reopen.

Parents and carers are being contacted by affected schools directly with more details, and you can also keep an eye on the school closures page of the council website for updates from headteachers: https://www.bridgend.gov.uk/.../planned-school-closures/

All community recycling centres which had to temporarily close during the storm are now open as normal.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to all council staff, teams and contractors for their monumental efforts over the weekend to ensure main routes were kept open for those that needed to travel and properties and businesses made safe and secure.

It has been one of the worst severe weather incidents we have experienced in the county borough in recent years, and we are extremely gratefully to all our council teams for their dedication and tireless efforts to ensure the safety of everyone in our local communities.

Councillor Paul Davies, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment

For more information on how the council deals with extreme weather, visit the winter weather pages at www.bridgend.gov.uk.