Council plans safety work on coal tips following receipt of Welsh Government grant

Anthony Lewis, Local democracy reporter

Merthyr Tydfil council has revealed work to make former coal tips safe will get underway in the coming months.

A cabinet report confirmed the council has received a Welsh Government grant of £574,436 to work on council and privately owned disused coal tips.

Design work is currently being done and tenders will be sent out in the next few weeks.

The works vary in nature from capping a mine shaft, drainage work, scour protection and re-directing watercourses, the report said.

Monitoring devices

Monitoring devices will also be installed on Nant-Yr-Odyn tip in Pentrebach to check for any movement.

The privately owned Clwydyfagwyr tip will see work to line the watercourse to prevent further erosion of the tip and investigation work is set to start soon to find an old culvert.

Wern Las Upper in Pentrebach which is also privately owned will see work to remove vegetation and repair a block stone channel and a design is being done for this.

Gethin Pit One which is owned by the council will see work to cap a mine shaft and investigation work is set to start soon.

Another council owned tip called Nant-Yr-Odyn will see a continuation of works from last year such as extending the lined channel at the rear of the tip towards the toe and repairing a culvert inlet with designs being done.

The Cwm Pit, Waunwyllt, which is privately owned will see the continuation of works from last year such as re-directing watercourses away from the tip and creating a block stone drainage channel. Design work is complete.

The privately owned Rhydycar Glyndyrys Pit will also see the continuation of works from last year such as re-directing watercourses away from the tip and creating a block stone drainage channel, with design work for this also complete.

Finally, the council owned Bedlinog pit will see work to clear debris and vegetation from a channel and repair drainage channels and the design is being done here.

The cost of each will not be known until they are tendered, the report said.