A COUNCIL leader has warned of “false dawns” after new plans emerged for a landmark Wrexham colliery bank.

A company gained permission in 2010 to flatten the six-million-tonne Bersham slag heap, which towers over the A483 at Rhostyllen.

Despite a five-year extension being granted to Bersham Glenside Ltd (BGL) by Wrexham Council in 2015, the scheme to remove the shale and sell it to the construction industry has yet to move forward.

Fresh proposals have now been submitted to create a factory to make concrete building products at the site directly.

The remediation firm said they had been put forward to mitigate concerns over the number of lorries which would have travelled to and from the village under the original application to take the material elsewhere for processing.

They also promised to deliver both social and economic benefits, including job opportunities.

However, Cllr Mark Pritchard, who represents the area and heads up the ruling executive board on the local authority, said similar pledges had been made before which were not kept to.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: “We did meet with the owners of the bank on numerous occasions and they did promise community gains which they’ve reneged on.

“We’ve had lots false dawns on it and lots of false promises on it.

“The last time we had lengthy discussions, they promised us that it would be removed by the Olympics (London 2012).

“They said it was because they wanted the spoil from it for infrastructure and roads for the Olympics.”

Bersham Colliery closed down in 1986, putting 300 miners out of work, and the pile is viewed as an important reminder of the area’s industrial history.

The council originally refused permission for it to be removed by BGL, but it was granted on appeal by the Welsh Government.

Cllr Pritchard also raised worries over the stability of the colliery bank after a landslide at a former coal tip in south Wales earlier this year.

He said: “There’s conditions within the report which myself and the community council worked on.

“Those conditions will still stand, and I won’t support watering them down because we spent a lot of time and effort on this to make sure if they do progress that it’s done properly and safely.

“We’ve had issues in other parts of the country with slippage on old colliery banks.

“It’s a serious issue, it’s nothing to be taken lightly and the people of Rhostyllen are very fond of it.”

BGL could not be contacted at the time of publishing, but representatives said the latest proposals would deliver the regeneration of listed buildings and heritage related facilities in the area.

In the plans, they also claimed it could provide an added bonus by using the blocks produced at the site to improve the region’s rail network.

They added the progression of the scheme would address any potential landslips.

They said: “The work at the Bersham site is driven by the need to be managed to avoid slippage of the waste that makes up the distinctive profile of the site.

“To reduce the risk of slippage the profile needs to be reduced in size and height, which means managing the excess material from this process.”