THE transformation of a derelict colliery site in Oakdale into one of the largest development sites in South Wales is to be marked by a new sculpture.

Caerphilly council has commissioned two artists to come up with proposals for new public artwork for the main entrance to the new Oakdale Business Park.

The site was once home to Oakdale colliery, which employed thousands of local people and was at the very heart of the community.

Following its closure in 1989, the site saw massive dereliction, with waste and slag from the colliery strewn around the local area.

Caerphilly council and the Welsh Development Agency carried out a major land reclamation project to transform the site into a 170-acre business park - the largest development opportunity of its kind in the South Wales valleys.

It cost £15 million pounds, funded by the National Assembly and European Union. The council now wishes to highlight the quality of future investment, with a commemorative feature also as a tribute to the past.

Proposals for the new artwork will be on display at Rhiw Syr Dafydd Junior School, Oakdale, on Wednesday, November 28, between 3.30pm and 6.30pm, and residents are invited along to have their say about the designs.

Deputy council leader and ward councillor Allan Pritchard said: "This memorial will be a fitting tribute to the industrial heritage of Oakdale and the surrounding communities.

"When the collieries closed it was as if the heart had been ripped out of the village, but the creation of the new Oakdale Business Park is helping to revitalise the area and has the potential to bring thousands of new jobs."

The site has already attracted major investment with the announcement that General Dynamics UK Ltd is using Oakdale Business Park for part of its £1.7 billion MoD communications system, bringing more than 200 new jobs to the county borough.