A DEAL between steel company Corus and developers acquiring 600 acres of land at the Llanwern plant's former 'heavy' end is due to be signed soon.

Corus has also announced that it has made over £18 million from the disposal of plant and machinery made redundant at Llanwern.

The land has become available with the end of steelmaking at the plant and is likely to be used for mixed development - factories, homes, a school and sports facilities. It would result in a £750 million redevelopment, possibly creating 7,000 jobs.

The consortium is led by Chepstow-based property developers Broadhall Hampton, and includes house-builders Barratt and developers AWG.

Since the end of steelmaking (only imported steel slab is used in the rolling mills at Llanwern), Corus has been demolishing and clearing the site as well as testing the ground for toxins produced as by-products of years of smelting.

Coupled with some regeneration at Port Talbot, the company has raised over £18 million from the transfer of plant and machinery.

Although there are significant amounts of scrap at the site, its price barely registers in the accounts and it can be used for steelmaking at Port Talbot.

Regeneration at Llanwern is taking place in three phases covering a zoned area surrounded by a tightly-controlled perimeter fence.

The first phase began in November last year and demolition completed in January this year, with the clearance of the foreign ore reception bunkers and overhead conveyor system.

Phase 2 ended in May and included removal of the ore crusher house and tippler and associated conveyors.

Phase 3, due for completion this month, will result in the removal of the 100-ton ore tippler and stockyard equipment, such as tower floodlighting.

Demolition and clearance of the two westernmost areas of the site - Zones A and B1 - should allow some of the land in the redevelopment agreement to be released.

Redundant plant is either being used elsewhere in the Corus strip steel business or sold.

* Pictured, Bob Fradd, former manager of the blast furnaces, looks over the cleared site