Tree and brash clearance, Mountain Ash - Aberdare Link Road, Abercynon. January/February 2009

One of the most challenging jobs ever taken on by Spencer was the clearance and removal of trees and other vegetation from the side of a 1.5 km stretch of the A4059. Now, this may not initially sound all that demanding, but when the nature of the location is taken into consideration the job takes on a completely new perspective.

After suffering from fire and, with a number of trees damaged during the past few years, Forestry Commission Wales were concerned about the potential of debris falling from the area into the road below. At the same time, it would also provide the opportunity of improving the visual appearance of that section of countryside.

Spencer was contracted to carry out the work and tasked with completion within an eight week period. After a thorough assessment of the site to establish what would be involved and to carry out a risk assessment, a team of experienced staff started work in January.

The area to be cleared covered nearly 100,000 square metres, most of which was on a slope measuring between 45 to 75º! The severity of the incline meant that access was extremely restricted and many of the operations had to be carried out with catch fencing and safety netting in place.

Because of the steepness of the site, stringent safety measures had to be put in place and, in some cases, workers had to have safety wires attached when working on the hill-side.

Using equipment such as a Tree Harvester and a Clam-bunk Skidder, the trees and brash were cleared bit-by-bit, the timber moved to a stacking area and then removed from site, whilst other waste was chipped and turned into and biomass, much of which was shipped to Margam Power station for use as wood-fuel.

To enable efficient and effective removal of the timber and other materials, Spencer made arrangements with Rhondda Cynon Taf authorities to close a section of the A4059. Normally a busy road, the closure was implemented on two Sundays in February in order to cause as little disruption as possible.

Even with snow falling during the operation, Spencer is delighted to report that the whole project was carried out on time, on budget and without incident.