The process of developing rail track testing facilities near Ystradgynlais has been discussed with Welsh Government planners.

Documents lodged with Planning and Environment Decision Wales (PEDW) show that Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) Limited has opened talks with Welsh Government planners on how to take forward a new planning application that provides more details for the scheme.

The development, which spans the former Nant Helen opencast site and Onllwyn Washery, crosses local authority boundaries with parts within the Powys and Neath Port Talbot council areas.

The development has the potential to create hundreds of jobs and could revitalise the economy, bringing an estimated £300 million into the area.

Previous planning applications, which secured the principle of being able to develop the former opencast mine, had been agreed by both Powys and Neath Port Talbot councils.

But discussions could now see the proposal taken out of local authority planners’ hands and dealt with as a Significant Infrastructure Project (SIP) by Welsh Government planning inspectors.

SIP is the new term being used by Welsh Government planners which replaces the Developments of National Significance (DNS) terminology – although all DNS applications already in the system will be processed under that legislation.

The “inception meeting note” from a meeting between the parties in June explains what was discussed.

The paper said: “The proposal comprises several interconnected elements including rail testing infrastructure, train maintenance and operational facilities, employment land, energy infrastructure, a hotel and a technology park incorporating a data centre.

“The project team stated that a master plan is being developed to bring together the various elements of the proposal and demonstrate how they will operate as a single integrated development.”

The documents explained that Welsh Government-backed GCRE wants to progress the scheme under the SIP regime because it believes “that a single comprehensive application would provide greater transparency and assist with coordinated delivery of the overall project.”

GCRE has also confirmed that it will start working on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the scheme “towards the end of 2026 or early 2027.”

The document said: “PEDW emphasised the importance of clearly defining the scope of the project for EIA purposes and the relationship between the different project elements before EIA work progresses.”

Originally, it had been expected that the testing facility would be operational by 2025, but the lack of progress seen over the last couple of years had led some to think that the project had hit the buffers.

Outline plans for the scheme were approved by both Powys and Neath Port Talbot planning committees in 2021.

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And in 2024, a further planning application was approved by both local authorities allowing a further three years for developers to come up with the detailed proposal.