Bypass Crew Send Safety Message To School

Church Village Bypass construction team members made a special visit to Gwaunmeisgyn Primary School to tell the children about how important it is to remain safe and not visit any of the construction sites.

The visit was the latest in a series of talks and demonstrations given by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s contractors Costain Ltd to schoolchildren who reside along the stretch of the £90million scheme.

Brian Greaves and Ieuan Davies from Costain made the special visit to the Beddau school after an invitation from Community Cluster Worker for Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School Kimberley McKenzie and Gwaunmeisgyn Schoolteacher Joyce Hunt.

The children were brought up to date with all the safety issues involved in developing such a major project which can pose serious hazards to anyone who ventures on to a construction site. The pupils – who are in Years 1 and 2 - all promised not to play anywhere near such areas.

Mrs Hunt explained: "Year 1 and 2 have been taking part in a partnership project with Brian Greaves and Kimberley McKenzie for their links with the community. They are having fun with outdoor learning as part of their foundation phase and their theme 'Under the ground'.

"They have learnt about the new bypass and some of the pupils dressed as builders and wore protective clothing as the emphasis of the visit was safety."

Brian Greaves added: "At the outset of the Church Village Bypass project, the partnership team set two objectives, namely to be a good neighbour; and to achieve optimum learning opportunities from this major construction project.

"The team was also extremely concerned about the safety of local children and the potential for them to stray onto this extremely expansive construction site. By working with local schools and in particular with our visit to Gwaunmeisgyn Primary, both our objectives have been addressed and our concerns about safety have to some extent been allayed.

"The children benefited from the presentation and seeing some of the warning signs and personal protection equipment used on site."

Church Village Bypass is the largest highways scheme currently being undertaken by any local authority in the UK.

Councillor Andrew Morgan, Cabinet Member for Transport and Customer Care at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: "Safety comes first and as part of our project we want to educate more young people on how hazardous construction sites can be. They can be very intriguing for children, but at the end of the day can be an extremely dangerous environment to visit for youngsters who often don’t see the hazards before them.

"Thanks to this series of talks I hope every child has understood how important it is to adhere to the rules and not enter any construction sites."