A MEETING will be held next Thursday to discuss how a £60,000 grant will be spent on rejuvenating the Navigation Colliery in Crumlin.

Plans to save the historic landmark were given a financial boost earlier this month thanks to a Welsh Government scheme.

The colliery, a mixture of Grade II* and Grade II listed buildings which closed in 1967, was the subject of a £25 million proposed development by Bristol-based Edward Ware Homes in 2009, but fell through due to the financial crisis.

Matthew Cousins is the community liaison for volunteer-led Friends of the Navigation, who have been working on the site to preserve its condition and secure its insurance for the last two years.

He said: “We want one building to get back to public use. So far we’ve been doing car boot sales and loads of different fundraisers but this money will help a lot.

“What we’re trying to do now is to get a bit of a timeline and an idea of how the money will be spent.”

Hyder electricity is currently in the process of installing a screw in the bottom half of the culvert to generate electricity for the site.

He added: “It’s important for the community to be able to see that something is actually happening and we’re not just restricting their access to the site.

“There are plenty of young people helping out as well. There is a martial arts team working with us because they want to use one of the buildings. Caerphilly Groundworks are also helping out, so there is movement.”

The group is also working with the council’s Urban Renewal team, but asked for more involvement from the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, Cadw.

Mr Cousins added: “We have six more years to get this site up and running, because there is a clause in the contract that says it will be given back to Pontypool Park Estate after eight years if we don’t.”

The meeting will be held at Crumlin Community Building on Thursday, September 26 at 7pm.