The proposed plans for the development of a Waste Recycling Plant at the former Abernant Colliery site near Rhydyfro in the Swansea Valley have been recommended for refusal by the Planning Department of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.

Refusal was recommended on these points:

§ The proposal was in breach of the proximity principle. This advocates that waste should be disposed of (or otherwise managed) close to the point at which it is generated; Abernant is not close to the point of production of the vast majority of the waste, these being the urban conurbations of Neath, Port Talbot, and Swansea. The processed waste will be hauled to a cement works in the Midlands with only 6% of this going to the nearby landfill site of Pwllfa Watkin.
§ Approximately 90% of the Facility was outside the B2 designated General Industrial Area of the Council’s Unitary Development Plan pertaining to Abernant Enterprise Centre.

Gwenda Thomas AM stated: “Many local residents have approached me with their concerns about the Abernant Recycling Plant, so I am very pleased that the Council’s Planning Department have recommended refusal for this proposal. I am delighted that the nearby villages of Cwmgors , Gwaun Cae Gurwen and Lower Brynamman will be spared the presence of this waste recycling facility as it would have been so close to the Pwllfawatkin tip.