Defiant family who refuse to leave their home after it turned into roundabout

A couple are refusing to move and sell their family home despite it being in the middle of a roundabout. In fact, the owner shared that the hundreds of cars passing by make him feel most at home.

Clwyd Howatson lives with his wife Anwen in their home, which sits in the centre of a roundabout near Denbigh bypass in Denbighshire, Wales. 

His bungalow has been in the family home for over 60 years after his parents also refused to move when plans for the roundabout were revealed. 

However, living on the busy A525 that runs from Rhyl to Ruthin hasn’t always been easy.

He said: “Getting off the roundabout can be a bit of a challenge.

“When people are on a roundabout, they don’t expect someone to come out of the roundabout itself, so we do get a few double-takes.

“It can be a bit awkward as well if someone lets you go because someone can be coming up on the other lane, but we don’t really have any issues with it, we just tend to wait until it’s a bit quieter which is most of the time.”

Receiving deliveries can also be a challenge, as he shared drivers often find themselves struggling to find his address.

He added: “We share the same postcode as the house around us so it can take a while for drivers to realise the house is on the roundabout if they’ve not been here before.

“Normally when we give instructions it’s fine, but I do end up saying: ‘No, no, we’re not by the roundabout – we’re on it and they always sound a bit dubious until they get here.”

Clwdy’s father David John and mother, Eirian Howastone moved into the bungalow in 1960 before the roundabout was constructed. It was in the late 1970s that plans were submitted but the couple decided not to move as they watched the roundabout being built around them.

After decades of living on roundabout, Clwdy hopes to pass on his appreciation of the outdoors to his seven children and 12 grandchildren.

While he loves his home that has “lovely views”, he hasn’t completely closed down the idea of one day moving but ensures that the house will stay in the family for years to come.