Mining firm pledges £350,000 for improvements in Varteg (From Free Press Series)

Mining firm pledges £350,000 for improvements in Varteg

1:08pm Wednesday 10th March 2010

CAMPAIGNERS are preparing their opposition to a controversial open cast mine on the outskirts of a Torfaen village.

And we can reveal the mining company involved, Glamorgan Power, is pledging £350,000 over three years in regeneration funds to Torfaen County Borough Council to spend in the Varteg area if the development goes ahead.

This is cash the company’s managing director Bernard Llewellyn says will help transform the area.

The application details how the company is prepared to pay £1 per tonne of coal extracted towards environmental improvements in Varteg and the surrounding area and estimates it will extract 350,000 tonnes from the 62-hectare site.

Mr Llewellyn told the Free Press the development would be a “win-win” situation for residents. But local people who formed the No Opencast Campaign are holding a meeting to discuss the plans.

Glamorgan Power is seeking planning permission for reclamation and restoration of land at Varteg Hill.

The plan details how the site would operate six days a week, from 7am until 7pm Monday to Friday, and 7am until 1pm on Saturdays.

The payment of £1 per tonne of coal could be paid under the auspices of the Varteg Neighbourhood Renewal Area funding pot.

Campaign secretary, Rev Priscilla Pearson, said the opposition group is opposed to the application because of the potential health impact it would have on residents and staff and pupils at the nearby Ysgol Bryn Onnen School.

Rev Pearson, who is also chairman of governors at Ysgol Bryn Onnen, said: “Some parents have already decided not to enrol their children because of the proximity of the proposed opencast, which is only 120 metres from the school.”

Bernard Llewellyn of Glamorgan Power Ltd told the Free Press the company was “ticking every box” with regard to ensuring the mining operation had the least impact possible on the community.

It is thought Torfaen Council could make a decision on the application within the next two months.

The proposed project would last over four years with three years of coal extraction, one year for restoration of land back to grazing and public use and a further five years of aftercare and management.

l The No Opencast Campaign meeting will be at Ysgol Bryn Onnen, on Tuesday, March 16 at 7pm, which will also be attended by planning officials.