Rescue have been appalled to learn that North Wales Police have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute after a significant proportion of Offa’s Dyke was bulldozed in August 2013, between Chirk and Llangollen.
Taking a broader perspective on the destruction of this earthwork, Rescue notes that, in a recent addition to the Welsh Heritage Bill consultation, the following statement was made by Cadw;
“Between 2006 and 2012, Cadw received reports of 119 cases of unlawful damage to scheduled ancient monuments in Wales. However, there has been only one successful prosecution under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 in the last 25 years.”
These are shocking statistics which RESCUE calculates equate to 17 reported cases of damage per year. We believe these figures are testament to the abject failure of the relevant bodies when it comes to protecting our heritage sites.
Our letters to Cadw and North Wales Police are below.
- Our letter to Dr Kate Roberts , Senior Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Archaeology CADW
- Our letter to Mr Winston Roddick, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner North Wales
In a separate matter, Rescue have written to Shorpshire Council to object to a planning application for the erection of 12 houses, North Of Whitridge Way, Trefonen which we believe would constitute an unacceptable direct impact on significant Heritage Assets associated with the dyke. You can read our letter here.
