This report has
been prepared to outline proposals by REP, the developer of the Maerdy
Windfarm, for improvements to the public access onto the windfarm
site. This report is intended to facilitate discussion with interested
parties and provide a basis for proposals to be agreed. Interested
parties may include neighbouring landowners to the windfarm site,
Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council, Walking Groups, Community
Groups, etc.
The public access
improvement proposals that are within the control of REP, i.e. those
within the windfarm proposal site boundary, are offered as a planning
condition for the windfarm planning application. It is intended that
this provide the planning authority with security over access proposals
being implemented, but also provides the flexibility for the plans
to be refined following consultation and amended plans being taken
forward with the planning authorities approval.
If the windfarm
went ahead it may provide a feature that some local people and visitors
may like to visit. The public access arrangements for the windfarm
site could be improved significantly to take advantage of the new
feature and facilitate greater public access onto the site.
The windfarm site
currently has very poor public usage, primarily because of poor access
onto the site. The plans would facilitate improved access onto the
site.
The access plans
would provide links between several surrounding elements of the local
recreational network: Coed Morgannwg Way, Sustrans Cycle route, Maerdy
Colliery Site and existing public footpaths, thereby strengthening
the wider recreational infrastructure.
The Maerdy Windfarm
proposal site is located on a high plateau area adjacent to Maerdy
coal tip to the northwest of Maerdy and north of Treorchy. See Figure
3.1, (or alternatively Figure 15.1 in the Windfarm ES.)
The site is open
access land. There is one Public Rights of Way (PRoW) footpath (Definitive
PRoW Map Reference 19/18) that crosses the site. There are no bridleways
or byways. The principal public footpath (18/19) runs north-south
linking the closest section of the Coed Morgannwg Way to Treorchy
via Cwm Orky. This path splits in the south of the proposal site with
an additional PRoW (2/7) heading south-eastwards along the Cefn-y-Rhondda
ridge and eventually descending sharply through forestry to Maerdy.
The windfarm site
is adjacent to the disused Maerdy Colliery Site. The colliery site
is part-reclaimed industrial land comprising the colliery site floor
and the coal tip, which covers the western side of the Rhondda Fach
valley. The site is owned by Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council
(RCT). The site is used for informal recreation by local walkers,
usually passing through on the road up to Luest wen Reservoir and
also by offroad motorbikes on the coal tip.
Reclamation plans
have existed for several years for the coal tip and colliery site,
but have not been implemented to date. Reclamation plans seen by REP
include new road access, car park, visitor centre / workshop, riverside
walk and reclamation of the coal tip.
The Coed Morgannwg
Way trail passes within 0.5 km of the site to the north and is a dramatic
walk of 36 miles which follows ancient tracks of Celtic origin. Along
the route there are several good viewpoints, from which the Brecon
Beacons and the Bristol Channel can be seen, although much of the
walk is through forestry plantations. The route starts from either
Gethin Woodland Park in the north (where it is linked with the Taff
Trail) or Margam Country Park in the south where it is linked to the
Ogwr Ridgeway Walk. Shorter sections can be walked from Dare Valley
Country Park approximately 2.5 km to the north-west of the site.
Sustrans National
Cycle Route 47: the Celtic Trail is a long distance cycle route across
South Wales from Chepstow to Fishguard that passes within 0.5 km of
the north-eastern boundary of the proposal site. The route follows
the northern side of the Rhondda Fach Valley to join the Coed Morgannwg
Way whose route it broadly follows through the extensive forestry
plantations around Lluest-wen Reservoir to reach the A4061 at Mynydd
Beili-glas where there is a car park and some signage and information.
Public use of
the site appears very low. The landowner who farms the site also lives
next to the footpath up onto the site from Treorchy. He goes up onto
the site more than any other person and has provided a testimony on
his knowledge of public use of the site (ES Appendix K). The landowner
explains that there is one person who regularly walks their dog across
the western margin of the site; other than this he has seen no other
members of the public walking on the site in the last 12 months. There
used to be walking groups a couple of times a year, but there have
been none for four years. The landowner’s neighbour rides her
horse on the site once or twice each week. He has never seen any mountain
bike users on the site. There are four-wheel drive vehicles who occaisionally
cross the site (approximately 6 times a year).
This assessment
of very low public use has been supported by the experience of several
consultants who have spent time on the site over the last 2 years
and were consulted on their experience.
Public use of
the site is very low for a variety of possible reasons:
- There is minimal
evidence of the PRoWs on the ground and the lack of features in
the proposal site makes navigation, even in clear conditions, difficult;
- There is no
PRoW to follow the Cefn-y-Rhondda ridgeline to its end at Porth,
which possibly reduces the attraction of the ridgeline and the proposal
site to walkers, riders and mountain bikers. The PRoW across the
site is not a logical part of a greater route;
- Both the PRoW’s
in the south ascend extremely steep valley faces to get onto the
site which also possibly inhibits public use of the site;
- Access to
the site from the PRoW in the north requires one to follow an unclear
footpath through dense coniferous forest which may also deter walkers
onto the site;
- The existence
of more attractive and significant routes e.g. Coed Morgannwg Way
nearby;
- Lack of any
specific attraction to the site: viewpoint, lake, cultural heritage
feature etc..
Figure 3.1: Existing
PRoW
The layout of
the windfarm has been carefully planned to balance the opportunity
to visit one turbine up close using a new PRoW, with avoiding proximity
to several turbines along the existing PRoW, enabling other aspects
of the site to be enjoyed. Table 3.1 shows the seperation from wind
turbines of the PRoW.
Table 3.1: Turbine
proximity to PRoW’s
| Proximity |
Number
of Turbines |
| Within 50m
of the existing PRoW |
0 |
| Within 50m-100m
of the existing PRoW |
2 |
| Within 100m-250m
of the existing PRoW |
1 |
| Within 250-500m
of the existing PRoW |
5 |
| Within 50m
of the proposed new PRoW |
1 |
Track layout
has also been designed to avoid the existing PRoW’s. The existence
of an access track may make access on foot easier and encourage use
of the site. However, this is weighed against the preservation of
unaltered surroundings in the immediate proximity of walking routes
and therefore PRoW’s have been avoided in the track design.
Of the 5.5km of on-site access track, the access track crosses the
existing PRoW in only two places and runs along the line of the PRoW
for only 60m. See Figure 3.1.
A number of public
access improvements are proposed:
New PRoW
A new PRoW up onto the windfarm site is proposed running from the
disused Maerdy Colliery Site (SS 99259986) up to the existing PRoW
on the top of the windfarm site (SN 95800025). Most of the new PRoW
would be on the windfarm site, although a small section (circa 200m)
is required on Council land to reach the base of Colliery site. See
Figure 3.2. (or Figure 15.3 in Windfarm ES)
The proposed new
PRoW would provide a new route up onto the windfarm site. The route
is short, only 650m from the coal pit site up to the existing PRoW.
Further, the route is less steep than existing routes up from the
Rhondda Fach and Fawr valleys. It is estimated it would only take
a reasonable walker 10-15mins to get to the top of the windfarm site.
Information
Boards
Public information boards are proposed at two locations –
near both entrances to the site – one near the windfarm substation
in the north west and the other near the turbine adjacent to the new
PRoW in the south-east. The boards would provide information not just
on the windfarm, but on the natural and human history of the site
surroundings. A large amount of information has been gathered through
the environmental impact assessment for the windfarm and this provides
a strong basis for interesting information on local cultural heritage,
wildlife, etc..
Improved
Footpath Signage
The access to the site from the Coed Morgannwg Way is via an old stone
bridge across the Rhondda Fach and a footpath through a short section
of forestry. The footpath is not easy to discern at the moment and
this is believed to be a contributory factor in the low use of the
site. Improved signage here is proposed to attract some of the walkers
on the Coed Morgannwg Way / cyclists on Sustrans Route.
Improved
Styles and Footbridges
The current footpath entrance in the north and the proposed new one
near Maerdy are both over small streams. New footbridges will make
access on foot easy, but also provide a good barrier against access
by mountain bike or motorbike, providing a good control on access
to the site and its peaceful preservation.
Figure 3.2: Pubic
Access Improvements
Address
the Existing Low Public Use of Windfarm Site
The windfarm site is currently poorly used, the public access improvements
would address the issues identified during the environmental impact
assessment:
- The new PRoW
would provide much improved access up onto the site, less steep,
shorter, starting in an existing informal recreational area, etc.
- The new PRoW
would integrate the existing PRoW on the windfarm site into a logical
wider network. The new PRoW would connect up existing PRoW’s
to create a circular route from the Maerdy colliery site. The circular
route would take in views from the elevated windfarm site, drop
down to the Lluest-wen reservoir road in the north where walkers
could either return on the reservoir road to Maerdy or use the other
PRoW’s that go back to Maerdy via the northern side of the
Rhondda Fach valley past Castel y Nos. The circular route is shown
on Figure 3.3. (Figure 15.2 in Windfarm ES)
- The new signage
would help attract users of the Coed Morgannwg Way to the north.
A new footpath would be created between the Coed Morgannwg Way and
the Maerdy Colliery site, improving links between the two.
- The windfarm
itself would be a feature of interest for some people, attracting
new users of the local footpath network. The information boards
would add to the interest of the site, but could also be a structured
educational opportunity for any organised educational visits, providing
information relevant to school syllabuses. The boards would therefore
improve visitor attraction for recreation and education.
Improved
Recreational Value of Wider Infrastructure
The windfarm, with information boards and improved access may be a
new feature of interest along the long distance Coed Morgannwg Way
and Sustrans Cycle Route. The windfarm may be a feature of interest
at the top of the proposed Rhondda Fach Riverside Walk, attracting
residents from further south in the Rhondda Fach. The windfarm may
be a feature of interest attracting users to the Maerdy Colliery Site
informal recreational area and the Dare Valley Park.
The new PRoW would
help to integrate and link these assets with a new connection between
the Maerdy Colliery site and the Coed Morgannwg Way; and a new Circular
route of footpaths starting and ending at the Colliery site.
Maerdy
Colliery Site Enhancement
The windfarm would be easy to visit from the Maerdy Colliery Site.
It would only be a walk of 350m up the new PRoW to visit the nearest
wind turbine. Close access to a wind turbine can be a novel and exhilarating
experience attracting visitors. The Colliery site and the public access
improvements would provide one of the easiest to visit windfarms in
Wales.
The recreational
capital of the Maerdy Colliery site could be strengthened by attraction
of the windfarm and the integration of the recreational networks at
the site by the access improvements. The access improvements would
help place the Maerdy colliery site at the hub of the local recreational
network.
The colliery site
is owned by the Council, is public access land, and is used by people
on an informal basis. The colliery site is currently abandoned industrial
land. The site is marked in the Local Plan for informal recreation.
There have been plans for some years to reclaim the site fully, but
these have not been implemented to date. The location of the footpath
has been designed to integrate with the current reclamation plans
provided by RCT. These plans include a workshop, visitor centre, road
and car park. Should the site be developed along these lines the PRoW
would integrate with these plans, but if the current unreclaimed situation
remains the PRoW is still in a sensible location to be used.
The Windfarm and
access improvements could strengthen any future development of the
site along the line of informal recreation. Further opportunities
are discussed in the Visitor Development Section (Section 4).
Figure 3.3: Circular
Footpath Route
This report outlines
proposals for public access improvements designed to improve the use
the windfarm site. The plans also strengthen the surrounding recreational
infrastructure through better integration and new features of interest.
Comments on the
routing and nature of the improvements are invited.
