A major £775,000 restoration scheme to repair a landslide in Pontypridd, Wales, has been completed.

The Danylan Landslip Restoration Scheme involved the restoration of around 8,000 tonnes of material that slid down the mountainside following a period of inclement weather.

Contractors Dawnus Construction Ltd were appointed by Environmental Services Group Strategic Projects team to recreate the slope, return the material to the reinforced, contained void and construct a new water channel scheme on the mountainside to replace damaged culverts.

The project also involved rebuilding the former cycle route linking Barry Sidings to Maesycoed along with the construction of a new pond.

A reinforced cover system has been provided and drainage installed to the new embankment by a series of sub surface drains.

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Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Housing Cllr Paul Cannon said: "This has been a major operation to undertake owing to the significant amount of debris which slid from the mountainside during the heavy rainfall.

"The completed restoration scheme is absolutely incredible and visitors today would never believe how the area looked a year ago. I'm sure residents of the county borough will be equally as impressed by the transformation and agree that the major investment scheme by the Council was well worth the wait."

In February 2004 following a prolonged period of rainfall, the major landslip at Danylan involved an 18m high section of the slope at the north-east end of a landfill site.

A flow of around 8,000 tonnes of covered an area of around a hectare including a children's playground before resting a short distance from the banks of the River Rhondda.

With the use of the Tensartech Natural Green system, a new reinforced slope was created and any landfill debris was reinstalled into the site. The site was then regarded, top-soiled and seeded.

A finished cover system of material provided a robust, sustainable, environmentally-friendly and maintenance-free engineering solution. Environment Agency Wales and the Council's own Public Health and Protection Scheme have also been consulted in the process to ensure the best-quality and safest materials and procedures were used.

(CD/JM)