Mystery of abandoned village that could be from post-apocalyptic horror movie

It is an abandoned hamlet in the middle of the Welsh countryside, that could be straight from a post-apocalyptic horror movie.

But there are no zombies wandering around, just an eerie silence, with weeds growing through the 294 houses, and a lake with no wildlife.

Jay Curtis was filming with a drone in Llandarcy, Neath Port Talbot, when he came across what he described as "this strange village in the middle of an old refinery site".

It was meant to become a thriving community of 10,000 people, and even the then Prince Charles visited to check on progress - but the site was mysteriously abandoned more than a decade ago.

Why exactly work stopped remains something of a mystery, with the site owner and local authority remaining tight-lipped, and people sharing theories with Jay online.

He admits initially thinking it was "something out of an apocalyptic movie", adding: "It just looked completely abandoned.

"At one stage I thought maybe it was a film set because Wales has a lot of filming going on at the moment.

"It was only until I got a bit closer with the drone that I realised it was a fully-fledged hamlet of houses with garages with electricity, with lighting."

The 38-year-old from Swansea documents abandoned and forgotten places across the UK in an effort to preserve history "before it disappears".

It was while researching the area around the old oil refinery site that he stumbled upon a collection of houses that looked like they would have been expensive, with a "quaint cottage-style feel", but had been left to decay badly.

There was also grass growing up through the cement.

His intrigue turned to questions, and he realised that it was an area that was once well-known locally, but that he had forgotten about.

Jay recalled the hype around King Charles' visit in 2013 as work took place to turn one of Europe's biggest brownfield sites into a thriving community.

Known as Coed Darcy village, the area around the former BP oil refinery was being redeveloped into a new community of 10,000 people and 4,000 homes.

But despite King Charles visiting shortly after the first phase was completed, and inspiration being taken from the project for Poundbury in Dorset, work was never finished.

Just 294 homes have so far been built, and roads were never connected.

Since sharing details of his visit online, Jay said people have messaged him with theories about why the land was never used.

These range from oil contamination and unsuitable ground to lack of funding or "no appetite" for the project.

He enjoyed how social media filled in the gaps, with former refinery workers and builders each offering their own version of events.

"There's no real clear answer," he said.

"That's what baffles most people."

Jay added that some people have even reported cars coming and going at night, suggesting the site may still be used for something, which only adds to the mystery.

STM Brighton Group, a subsidiary company of Revantage, has undertaken remediation work at the brownfield site since it was acquired in 2008.

It submitted a planning application in November 2021 for 1,800 new homes, a small cluster of retail units, with land provided for a new primary school.

But since then, there has been no progress in agreeing the right planning use for the former oil refinery site.

Revantage declined to comment, as did Neath Port Talbot council.