The SLR master-planning team will manage the transformation of the open cast site at East Pit in the Amman Valley into an international tourism and leisure destination and the former Margam mine site, near Port Talbot, into a new mixed use eco-village on the M4 corridor.
The East Pit project is the first of its kind in Wales and will utilise the final stages of the working mine to create a dynamic new landscape that will provide a sustainable economic future for the local community once coal extraction ceases. Sustainable energy solutions will be integral to the development which will aim to drive a range of rural regeneration projects in the tourism, leisure and green economy sectors.
The Margam project focuses on the comprehensive redevelopment of the former coal mine to accommodate substantial commercial and residential components, as well as local community and employment facilities.
Both projects will be progressed through design review processes with the UK Design Council for Wales during 2012.
SLR Technical Director Paul McTernan said: “These are highly ambitious projects which will showcase an innovative approach to the regeneration of coal mining communities in the UK.
“They will require a range of multidisciplinary skills to bring together the best of extraction planning, environmental restoration, masterplanning, community regeneration, tourism, economic viability testing as well as community and stakeholder consultation.”
Directors Alan Whiteley from Oak Regeneration and Rob Thompson from Celtic Energy both agreed that: “This is an important collaboration between our companies to create genuinely sustainable legacy projects that can benefit these communities.
“It is fantastic to have SLR’s extensive expertise on these projects helping to make sure that our sites’ full regeneration potential is achieved and that these communities can benefit from new and exciting development opportunities into the future.”
