THE Welsh Government has given £250,000 to reclaim land at an ex-colliery site in Gwent.

The decision by Edwina Hart, Minister for Economy Science and Transport, to award the grant to Navigation Colliery in Crumlin, was welcomed by local AM Jocelyn Davies.

The decision was made after she brokered a meeting between the Minister and the organisations leading the project to restore the colliery, which has been described as the finest group of coal mining buildings remaining in Wales.

Speaking today, Jocelyn Davies said, “Navigation Colliery is a significant part of the heritage of the South Wales Valleys coalfield. Securing this grant from the Welsh Government is an important step in restoring this historic site so that it can be adapted for new uses to benefit the local community.

“Navigation Colliery is not only our past, it is also our future.”

The grant will be used by the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, with support from the Glofa Navigation Trust and friends group, to secure the site by tackling pollution rising from the former mineshaft and preventing a culvert beneath the main access road collapsing.