24/7 drilling in Cardiff park having ‘major impact’ on residents lives

An around-the-clock drilling operation in a park is having a “major impact” on the lives of local residents by causing headaches and sleep deprivation.

The pumping station at Hailey Park, in Cardiff, has been a long-standing issue in the area, with one resident saying she can “feel it” almost everywhere in her house.

While plans were approved in 2022, a series of delays, a legal challenge and damage to machinery caused by a waterlogged site has meant progress has moved slowly.

Welsh Water said the 24-hour tunnelling is required to “carry out this phase of the work safely” and it was working with residents to mitigate the disturbances as much as possible.

The operation intends to pump sewage from the planned Plasdwr housing development to an existing sewage system, in order for a developer to build 7,000 homes.

Campaigners initially expressed concerns about the sewage plant being built in 2023 saying it would affect their community in the Llandaff North area of Cardiff.

A legal challenge was lost as Welsh Water said the sewage pumping station was needed to deal with the excess sewage from the Plasdwr housing development.

Permission was granted to conduct the work in September 2026, with work beginning later that month.

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) visited the site, the sound was measured at 50 decibels which is equivalent to a moderate rainfall. It could be heard from the Melingriffith Water Pump, a historic monument, just under half a kilometre away.