In fairness it looks just like every other Caravan Park in Wales !
It was a well-known and seemingly well looked after travellers’ site that’s been occupied for years.
But this is now the chaotic scene at the site, which looks destroyed and abandoned.
For years the location was looked after with flowers and greenery decorating the gates and well-maintained homes within.
But this week, wrecked cars and caravans were left strewn on the land, with litter everywhere. Plants were also pulled from pots and there were building materials strewn around.
Cats were wandering through the junk. Cages seemingly used for dog breeding stood empty.
And now authorities fear the clean-up at the site, off Meadows Road, Newport, could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
A source close to Newport council said: “The Welsh Government put them there without our knowledge. They were forcing our hand.
“They said they would put a temporary site on Queensway Meadows and then we’ll go about getting you a complete site.
“The people they put there first were no problem. But some other people have turned up who are not quite so user friendly.
“I’m not anti-gypsy but you have got to be bloody careful with people. They don’t make it easy for people to accept them when people see the mess that gets left and the clear up costs.
“My understanding from people living in the area was that everyone had p***ed off but others have told me a couple of caravans are still being lived in.”
When we visited the site, we did not see anyone. However, it is understood there are still people on the site.
Allan Morris is the councillor for the area.
“Situations like this make it very difficult for people to accept traveller sites within their communities,” he said.
“Not all travellers are bad but it’s incidents like this that tar everyone with the same brush.”
A Welsh Government source said a family had been living on the site who had “tolerated status” but then new people arrived and “that has caused some problems”.
Glynis Davies of Cats Protection said she had gone to the site yesterday.
So far, the charity has removed eight cats and one kitten from the site. None of the animals were spayed.
She said four dogs had also been removed from the area.
“They use the dogs for breeding as you can tell from all the cages there,” she said.
“They breed the dogs and they have taken most of the dogs with them and left the ones that were not as well, or perhaps not as much use to them.
“All the cats that we have taken were in pretty good condition - they are a bit scared but that is to be expected.
“But they have been fed and they are not thin or starving. Obviously they were not neutered so the vets have been neutering them all.”
Ms Davies said she was confronted by two travellers yesterday.
“I was stopped by two of them travelling back in yesterday,” she said.
“They told me I had no right to be on the site.”
They had been trying to visit the land in pairs since they were first called on Friday.
“When we first came down with the dog kennel people we spoke to a guy and he was still living down the bottom and he was nice,” Ms Davies said.
“I thought the site was abandoned initially but apparently it goes quite a long way back.
“I gather there are still a few people down the bottom. There have been different vehicles around when I have been, but how many are there I do not know.”
A spokeswoman for the Welsh Government said: “We are aware of issues on the Queensway Meadow Industrial Estate and are currently considering the best way forward.”
Gwent Police said: “This isn’t a police issue.”
Newport Council said they were dealing with fly tipping on the pavement outside the site.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/inside-deserted-traveller-site-left-12437532
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