Long Covid sufferer voices her concerns after increased dust and rats get into her home
A LLANISHEN resident says she faces daily struggles with her breathing and must wear a mask all the time because of dust produced at the demolition site at Ty Glas.
June Griffiths, 75, lives with her husband Griff and two-year old dog Beau a short distance from the site of the old HMRC tax office and says the dust is impacting their lives.
She suffers from a rare disease, Charcot Marie Tooth, which causes her daily mobility issues.
“I pray for rain so I can breathe again, it’s the only time I’m not coughing,” she said.
“Like many people, I had Covid, but my symptoms seemed to go on for months, and I was coughing all day and night. It sounded like the worst cold and sinusitis you’ve ever heard.
“Every time we opened the door there was a layer of dust around,” she said. She also saw rats in her own home, and believed they were disturbed by the demolition work.
“I was sat on the sofa, and I saw something lie flat and go under the cupboards. I screamed for my husband, and I knew straight away it was a rat. I was traumatised.
“We were up till 2 o’clock in the morning, taking out everything from the cupboards, making sure there was no sign of rats in the food, making sure everything was covered.
“We got told by pest control to keep our windows and doors locked all the time now as they will keep trying to get in. This is our life now, all the time you can’t forget about the rats,” said Ms Griffiths.
Built in 1968, the HMRC tax office once dominated the skyline of Llanishen, a suburb in the north of Cardiff. The headquarters was moved to Tŷ William Morgan building in Central Square, and the site was left empty.
Cardiff Council acquired the land in 2021 and began the demolition in July 2023. It was expected to take a year – but the work is still ongoing in November 2024.
“We can’t even put our washing on the line or sit out in the garden in the sun because everything is dusty. It has really affected our lives.
“We have bought air purifiers to help get rid of the dust, but we cannot afford to keep them on all the time,” she explains.
A spokesperson for Cardiff City Council said: “If there are any concerns relating to dust or any other environmental concerns on site, we ask residents to report it to the Shared Regulatory Services.”
The council spokesperson said: “We have never given any timeline on the demolition. There are no time limits that can be, or have been, imposed by planning on prior approval applications for demolition, so we have no control over the timescales.”
Erith Contractors Ltd, the company in charge of the demolition, was asked for comment, but did not respond.
