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stage of the wider East
Merthyr Reclamation Scheme. It is the largest of the original three phases and will restore over 360 ha of previously derelict and disturbed land. Once completed, the land, which will be fit for upland grazing, with safe access for use by the community, will be returned to the planning authority.
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Phases I 'Incline Top' and II the
Dowlais 'Great White Tip' of the scheme were completed in 1993 and 1997 respectively, restoring 106 ha of derelict land to provide residential, light industrial and recreational uses. The 'Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme', represents the third, and final,
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following the grant of planning permission. The aim was to extract coal from the area of East
Merthyr by the cheapest and most profitable means, rather than detracting from it and its environment. The East Merthyr Reclamation Scheme is made up of three phases, each with the objective of reclaiming
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Planning consent for Phase III was granted in
November 1988. However, local debates continued over the nature and scale of the development which will lead to the extraction of 10 m tonnes of coal over 15 years; as well as commercial concerns over the size of the coal reserve, together with access
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The license of the site expired in
September 2022; an application for a 9-month extension was filed with Merthyr Tydfil Council. That application was refused in April 2023, meaning the site would have to close. In August 2023, the company announced that the mine will close by the end of November
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The contracted excavator/reclaiming company was
Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd (previously called Miller Argent), which is owned by Gwent Investments Limited, a privately owned family business based in South Wales. The scheme development was the last part of the East Merthyr Reclamation scheme, and
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Under agreed planning rules, the vast majority of coal that left the site was transported by rail. Extracted coal was moved from the mine and taken to be separated and washed at the sites
Cwmbargoed Washery. Built in 1959 on land to the north and east of the railway connection to
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from the 1930s through to the 1980s, the area to the east of
Merthyr Tydfil has suffered severe dereliction. The East Merthyr Reclamation Scheme was the initiative of the former Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council and Mid Glamorgan County Council, in partnership with the
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coal mine has provoked criticism at a local and national scale, including objections on health and safety grounds as to the close proximity of housing to the site, concerns of the despoiling of the landscape, and global concerns of the contribution of coal to
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planned to extract 10 million tonnes of coal over 15 years starting from 2007, with the intention of using part of the revenue to redevelop the current former industrial workings into residential and recreational use.
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in 1992. In the summer of 2015, Miller Argent launched its state of the art coal washing facility on site - built at a cost of £10 million. The facility was built to meet demand for high quality Welsh coal by the
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the derelict and dangerous land to the east of
Merthyr Tydfil, using revenues from surface coal mining operations, restoring the land to beneficial use at no cost to the public purse.
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The Ffos-y-fran Land
Reclamation Scheme is the largest of the original three phases and will restore derelict land, including the removal of known shafts previously associated with
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131:. In February 2005 the Welsh Assembly approved the Ffos-y-Fran scheme, but the High Court quashed the decision after it was claimed by local residents that Environment Minister
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In 1994 the scheme was revised to claim a larger coal reserve in line with government guidance, termed Phase IIIA. This was withdrawn in May 1999 due to access rights issues.
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rights to the land. Protesters said that if the scheme proceeded, it would mean work taking place just a few hundred metres away from homes in the villages of
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Mr Jones denied the claim and the Welsh Assembly took the case to appeal judges, who gave final approval of the scheme on 27 November 2006.
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46:. It was the last major opencast mine in the UK, and it shut down in November 2023 with restoration planned to start in 2024.
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Access rights were resolved by Miller Argent in 2003, and a new application was brought to Merthyr Council and the
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Following the 18th century development of Merthyr as an industrial centre, and the shut-down of the deepcast
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200 people will be employed on the site, with an additional estimated 400 jobs created within the local area
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Since 2002 the council have removed 58 burnt out and stolen cars from the site
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and coal workings, to finally complete the original land reclamation scheme.
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The washed coal was taken from site by rail along the former route of the
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The scheme at peak production extracted 20,000 tonnes of coal per week
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215:. In March 2017, Miller Argent sent its last delivery of coal to
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382:"Plans put forward for Merthyr coal mine to keep operating..."
358:"Protesters dressed as canaries 'shut down' Valleys coal mine"
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62:. A number of protests have occurred on and around the site.
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Phase III in total covers 3,500 acres (14 km) of land
401:"Merthyr Tydfil: UK's largest opencast coalmine to shut"
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had made his mind up before the planning committee met.
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2023. The mine shut down in November 2023 as planned.
251:"Coal: UK's last opencast mine shuts after legal row"
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View across the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme
207:. Joining the modern Rhymney Line just south of
160:Statistics surrounding the site which include:
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571:Environmental protests in the United Kingdom
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91:in the mid-1980s and was launched by the
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198:Tata steel works site in Port Talbot
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29:Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme
336:"Protest halts opencast mine work"
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16:Open-pit coal mine in south Wales
38:operation to the north-east of
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437:"The Dowlais Great White Tip"
209:Ystrad Mynach railway station
356:Hayward, Will (2017-04-21).
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389:. 20 September 2022.
269:"Millerargent.co.uk"
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234:References
119:Penydarren
70:Background
178:Transport
405:BBC News
223:See also
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515:51°44′N
423:itv.com
255:bbc.com
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