Tylorstown tip drainage nears completion, but hillside path remains closed

The main drains collecting water from the reshaped Tylorstown coal tip are complete, but work to control the flow into nearby streams is continuing and the closed hillside right of way has not yet reopened. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council says the final phase of remediation is nearing completion. It has not given a finishing date: rain or snow could slow access along the steep track used by the contractor.

What still needs doing

Prichard’s is working on measures that slow water before it reaches existing streams, as well as repairs to an outfall channel below a new cascade. Soil nailing at the bottom of the site remains part of the work before the contractor moves uphill to establish a maintenance track and reinstate the public right of way. Council officers are reviewing walking routes through the site. Long-term monitoring and management will continue after construction finishes. This update does not announce the reopening of the closed hillside path.

Off-road vehicles are damaging drains

The council says people entering the site with off-road vehicles are damaging drainage channels and that the contractor is reporting incidents to South Wales Police. The warning concerns the infrastructure needed to manage water through the tip. The February 2020 landslip during Storm Dennis blocked the valley, damaged a sewer and covered a water main and shared path. Earlier remediation cleared material, repaired the river embankment and stabilised the slope; the current phase addresses the remaining hillside tip.

The funding is for more than this one site

The council says it received £13.7 million through the Welsh Government’s Coal Tip Safety Grant this year, which supports its wider programme as well as the continuing Tylorstown work. That figure is not the cost of this project. It separately cites a £4.8 million multi-year grant commitment for stabilisation at Graigddu Tip in Dinas. That is another site and should not be added to a supposed Tylorstown budget. The update gives neither a final Tylorstown cost nor a firm completion date.