CANK Note:
What follows was made from notes taken down at the time of Cllr Bithell's statement to the Inquiry.
Cllr Bithell has confirmed that the gist of what he said has been accurately reflected here.

I am a member of no action group. I have lived on Penyffordd for 33/43 years. I was chairman of the health Committee for 4 years. I would like to draw attention to the difficulties associated with living in Penyffordd. I am in favour of the Works continuing as is provided it operates within accepted limits.

We have had difficulty in verifying who is causing the pollution when and where. The Environment Agency has, in the past, checked but has failed to come up with anything. It is claimed that Castle Cement keep within the accepted limits that have been imposed on them but it is difficult to believe that when our sills windows and cars are caked in dust. Things have become a little better in recent years, since we have started monitoring the situation ourselves. We were always told that it was ground dust from the limestone stores from the prevailing winds and storms. I asked Castle Cement to cover the dust pile in 1977. At the time, the management agreed that it was a problem and needed doing, but the finances weren’t present. However, many years have gone by since then and nothing has yet been done.

I find it difficult keeping up reasonable relations between Castle Cement and the public who I represent. We’ve had many hours talking with Castle Cement and the Environment Agency prior to this Inquiry but often they haven’t turned up nor given the answers that we are looking for, instead relying on the fact that they aren’t qualified to give an answer to a particular question. So the public are now at odds with the people who are supposed to be protecting them (Castle Cement). I saw the plan for the proposal in 1994 and I have to admit, it looked pretty good. They discussed the possibly of using rail which would have taken a lot of the proposed Castle Cement traffic off the roads and out of the villages around the plant. I accept that they have been here for fifty years but they still have a duty to ensure that what they do doesn’t harm the surrounding public. I have asked Tony Allan at some of the meetings as to why they need several of the old stacks when they are producing cement in the new kiln.

What they plan to use as the fuel sends shivers down the spines of the population. All we have heard is estimates. We need to know. Everyone I have spoken to in the villages have said that they don’t want this process because they have children and loved ones and they don’t their health put at risk. I am unmoved also by the way the Environment Agency have led the people through this process. We need to see and meet the people who are behind the scheme for them to assure me how they are going to look after the local people but I have been refused this opportunity. They either have something to hide or don’t care about the local population. Either way, the public should be concerned. As far as I’m concerned if industry wants to get on, it must co-operate with the people. It may be a £40 million investment, but if one hair on one child’s head is harmed then the investment will pale into insignificance when compared against the compensation that Castle Cement will have to pay out.