Kidwelly Town Council

Council Offices, Hillfield Villas
Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire. SA17 4UL
tel: 01554 890203
e-mail: towncouncil@kidwelly.gov.uk

Glan yr Afon

Glan yr Afon Nature Reserve and Slaughterhouse

The Nature Reserve

In 2006 Kidwelly Town Council and the Countryside Council for Wales started to work together on a project that recognised and identified Glan yr Afon as area of outstanding beauty and of considerable benefit to the local wildlife. It is the intention of the project to protect and preserve the site and its many habitats, various flora and fauna, including two types of rare orchids, for the enjoyment people of Kidwelly and the surrounding area. The site is also a haven for the different wildlife and birdlife which visits the nearby Special Area of Conservation (SACs), in the Carmarthen Estuary, a site which has received European recognition for its diversity of wildlife on the salt marshes.

The Tidal Saltings

The Nature reserve at Glan yr Afon would have been a tidal salting during the period when the slaughterhouse was in use and before. Tidal saltings are a type of marshy land that can be become flooded by the tides from the sea or the Gwendraeth Estuary. The land at Glan yr Afon would have been very similar to the land opposite the Kidwelly Quay, which is known as the Kidwelly Burrows. The tidal saltings would have been used to graze animals.

The Lagoon

Glan yr Afon is home to a Lagoon, built by the, now closed, British American Optical Company. Known as a Settlement Lagoon, it was used as a disposal site for a solution of ground glass. The lagoon is the last of many to have occupied this site. The lagoon has been capped with soil, and is fenced away from the general public. The disposal of this effluent was approved by Welsh Water Authority as being suitable in this environment.

The Tip

In the 1960s the tidal saltings were excavated and used by the then Llanelli Borough Council for the tipping of domestic and trade refuse (building materials). In 1987 the tip was closed and a soil cap was placed over the site.

Sustrans path

As part of the “making good” of the old tip and the regeneration of the site a gravel path was created around the old tip besides the river. This path has been upgraded and tarmaced and has been adopted as a part of the Sustrans cycle route number 4 which travels through Wales.

The Slaughterhouse

Built 1895 by the Corporation of Kidwelly for the disposal of animals from the Kidwelly Market that used to be held opposite the Boot and Shoe public house. There are six buildings of varying structural condition that still survive to date. The associated animal pens have been removed, one of which was redeveloped in 2004 as part of the first phase of the Glan yr Afon regeneration.

This Slaughterhouse is currently part of a separate project involving Kidwelly Town Council, the Welsh Assembly and Carmarthenshire County Council. This project has been ongoing for many years and has seen many different suggestions for its regeneration and even demolition. Recently, a report by the local Archaeological Trust, Cambria, has shown the building to have very unique features, not found in any other building structure in South Wales.

Dimech’s Factory

The Factory owned by the Maltese entrepreneur Mr Anthony Dimech was erected in the late 1960s. The factory produced car components and was in operation until the 1970s. In 1980 a fire destroyed everything apart from the large steel structure and the outbuildings. During the 1980s and 1990s the site deteriorated very rapidly becoming both and eyesore and a danger to the public. The area known as the Dimech’s was redeveloped in 2004 and is now the Glan yr Afon Coach and Car park. Involved in carrying out this project were, Kidwelly Town Council, the Glan yr Afon Working Group Carmarthenshire County Council, Mott MacDonald (consultants), Kingston Construction and the then Project Officer Ceris Harries.

On the 25th April during the opening of the site a “time capsule” was buried at the site. Pupils from Ysgol y Castell, Ysgol Gwenllian and Ysgol Mynyddygarreg and members from Kidwelly Town Council and the Kidwelly Working Group selected the items that were placed in the capsule.