Plan to restore 285 hectares of Ffos y Fran mine in Wales after closure in 2023, focusing on habitat and landscape.
The mine closed in November 2023, after extracting coal from 2007. In total, they got around 11 million tonnes of coal.
The plan involves changing some mounds; one big mound will be smaller and covered in grass. Some rocky areas will stay exposed, which could help birds and plants. Other mounds will mostly stay the same, then they will plant trees and grass.
Old mining water systems will stay, and they will actually make them better. Some areas already have ponds, and the company wants to keep the ponds safe. A lake formed in the main area, so they will keep it and plant trees around it.
They will tear down the mine buildings, including workshops and storage areas. Some land becomes grazing for animals, while other areas become habitats for nature. They will have grassland, woodland, and also add wetlands.
The land by the A4060 road gets changed and could become light industrial land later. Until then, they’ll plant grass and create paths for people to walk as well as for drivers.
The company uses a new, more sustainable method. Moving lots of earth is old fashioned, so less earth moving is better for the air and helps the landscape. Nature has even started to recover already.
The area has ponds and wetlands where great crested newts live and peregrine falcons fly around. Orchids grow in the wetlands now. The original plan would have hurt this, but the new plan protects nature more and avoids destroying habitats.