After 52 long years, the toll that we are all so used to has been lifted. As of December, we no longer need to pay to cross the Severn bridge on the M4 into Wales. £7 doesn’t seem like much, but waiving this small fee has much bigger implications for South-East Wales as a whole. Increased population, number commuters and house prices, but have we skimmed over a messy truth?

Caldicot has long been separated from the English boarder by the infamous Severn river. With the addition of the “new” bridge, the town is just a 30 minute commute from Bristol. With housing prices at a premium in Bristol and the surrounding counties, Caldicot and the rest of Monmouthshire (post bridge tolls), seems like a much cheaper option for those who work in Bristol. This has resulted in a massive increase in demand for housing in the area which has resulted in an increase in both population and housing prices. In fact, housing prices in Monmouthshire has increase by an incredible 11% due to the tolls being lifted.

Although this is great for the Welsh economy, what are the implications of such a dramatic increase and population?

Months before the Severn Bridge tolls had even been officially lifted, housing development companies had submitted plans to build more that 500 new homes across Caldicot and the rest of Monmouthshire. Although these plans of development may be filling the demand for more affordable housing in the area, some are concerned about the impact the new housing could have on the small towns such as Portskewett. 

It might sound obvious (and a bit disgusting), but we live and breath waste. So it won’t come as a surprise that our concerns are with the general upkeep in the area. This study observed that an increase in population can have a devastated impact on the amount of waste a population produces.

So what can we do about this?

As a small town, we have always held ourselves accountable for the upkeep of the area. If we are to minimise the impact to Caldicot, it is imperative that this mentality is brought forward as the area grows in population. That means the big city mentality of “thats not my job” cannot develop. See a piece of litter? Pick it up. Has next door put out too many bin bags? Offer to put one outside of your house to avoid bins being left out for the foxes. Doing some work on the house? Don’t hire cowboy waste management companies who will likely dump your waste illegally around the corner. Our Caldicot skip hire team prides themselves in sustainable waste management and so do a number of companies the the area – so theres no excuse.