 The area is three kilometres long |
An ambitious plan to reuse some of the cellars at the former Ebbw Vale steelworks site is forming part of a multi-million pound regeneration package. A labyrinth of basements - some of which are 27 metres deep - run underneath the three kilometre site.
Simon Gray, project director with consultants Llewelyn Davies, said a massive water feature or a lecture theatre in a new students' campus could be built in the cellars.
"The site is riddled with with sub-terranean passages developed over the last 100 years," he said.
"Some are narrow and some run for one kilometre.
"We have identified those basements in reasonable condition, they need to be surveyed in detail," he added.
Mr Gray said traditionally these passages would have been capped and left unused but a fresh approach could see the land being reclaimed.
Plans to build 450 homes are also part of a masterplan which has been presented to the Welsh Assembly.
 I think we all feel privileged to be working on the creation of a new 21st century Ebbw Vale  |
A campus for university students as well as those aged from 16-plus to senior citizens eager to follow a range of other courses could be accommodated.
A community hospital and a rail terminus are also part of a blueprint for the former works.
The steelworks, which used to employ more than 10,000 people at its height, closed on 5 July, 2002, after 200 years of production.
Blaenau Gwent council leader John Hopkins said it was hoped long-term sustainable projects would inject a new spirit of confidence into the area.
Job losses
The multi-partnership plan hopes to deliver prosperity to an area blighted by job losses.
The unemployment blackspot suffers from deprivation, low car ownership and low earnings.
But Hamish Munro, from the Welsh Development Agency, said the masterplan offered huge opportunities.
"I think we all feel privileged to be working on the creation of a new 21st century Ebbw Vale."
He said: "This is one of the most imaginative masterplans in Wales."
The rail terminus at the site will see commuters able to travel directly to Cardiff and Newport.
Public transport will also feature on the Corus site with plans to encourage walking and cycling for local journeys.
The historic clock tower and offices prompted calls for their retention.
Mr Gray said the buildings were listed and it is hoped they would be brought back into use.
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