The coal tips have become part of the landscape

The inquiry will determine if proposals to restart coal mining at Ffos-Y-Fran in Merthyr Tydfil should go ahead.

The 12-day Welsh assembly inquiry will open on 7 September into the plans by Miller Argent.

If the scheme is approved, more than 10 million tonnes of coal will be extracted from the area over 15 years.

The coal is expected to be sold to nearby Aberthaw Power Station, and the developers have promised to pay more than �6m in royalties to the local council to be spent on public schemes.

However, local people have voiced strong objections to the plans.

Fears about the effect on health, the devaluation of houses and the impact it will have on inward investment to the town have been raised by people opposed to the scheme.

A 1,000-signature petition was collected by members of the Merthyr Tydfil Anti-Opencast Alliance against the plans.

But the scheme has had the backing of the Transport and General Workers Union, which says that vital jobs will be brought to the area if the plans are approved.

They say that 200 jobs will be created as a direct result of the scheme, with a further 400 contractor jobs being made.

The public inquiry will open on 7 September at the Bessemer Club, High Street, Dowlais at 1000BST.