A former Montgomeryshire lead mine has seen its recreational use and biodiversity enhanced thanks to the efforts of two organisations and the local community.
The former lead mine at Y Fan, near Llanidloes, has been enhanced as part of a £5,400 projected funded by Natural Resources Wales and Powys County Council.
Now known as ‘Coed y Fan’, the site is highly valued by the local community as a local open space and supports a diverse mixture of habitats and species including numerous native wildflowers and a healthy population of common lizards.
The local community decided what enhancements they wanted to see on site, which saw two picnic tables with seats installed by the council’s Countryside Services team. An interpretation panel highlighting the industrial heritage of the site and it biodiversity value was also installed as part of the project, along with several bat boxes to provide roosting opportunities for bat know to feed at the site at night.
Volunteers from the village met for a family work party in March and erected bird boxes in the woodland and cleared overgrown vegetation from one of the paths.
Cllr John Powell, Cabinet Member for Countryside Services, visited Coed y Fan to see the enhancement works and said: “At its peak, this former lead mine extracted thousands of tonnes of lead ore, had a workforce of 700 and played an important role by contributing to the large lead market in the 19th century.
“Today, it serves a different but an equally important purpose with local community and visitors enjoying its recreational and biodiversity qualities. These works enhance these qualities and I hope that they will be enjoyed by visitors and locals for many years to come.”