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In 1985, not long after the miners’ strike, Caerphilly’s Thomas Ness tar works was closed.

Construction of the plant, where tar was distilled from the by-products of coking, began in 1938 when a 60-year lease was agreed to take over the greenfield site from Plymouth Estates.

Today, almost 40 years after the plant closed and almost 30 years after a fire, the site, as you would expect is a heavily-polluted barren patch of land.

Civil engineering firm Walters bought the site in 2008. The sum has not been disclosed on Land Registry documents, but Caerphilly Observer understands it was for a nominal sum.

The site, which is a stone’s throw away from Caerphilly railway station, has long been earmarked for housing – and the Welsh Government has already given £20 million to Caerphilly County Borough Council for the site to be cleaned-up.

In February this year, the council began carrying out ground investigation works on the site to gauge the extent of the contamination, with a view to building on it.

But residents are worried that any work on the area could result in contaminated and toxic materials from the old tar plant being brought back up.

There is a strong belief among some residents that contamination goes as deep as five metres into the ground at some parts.

A more fundamental question is being posed by the residents though. What type of town does Caerphilly want to be?

They argue Caerphilly deserves to be more than just a commuter town, or an extended suburb of Cardiff.

Instead, they have come up with a radical and impressive solution.

They want to see an ‘Eco Hub’ developed which would act as a centre for university research into cleaner ways to decontaminate the land and a place for urban farming – not to mention the potential for a new tourist attraction.

The site would be made safe through a process of ‘capping’ where the deep contaminated land is sealed off so the upper layer would be safe to use.

University researchers could then actively find ways to decontaminate the deeper pollution over the longer-term in a more environmentally-sustainable way compared to if the site was cleared for housing.

Resident Lynn Gazal has led efforts to form a community interest company to get the fledgling scheme off the ground.

She said: “The hub could be a welcome centre and gateway to existing heritage gems, Nant y Calch farm, Y Fan and Gwern y Domen, encouraging tourists and a wider range of visitors to stay for the whole day in Caerphilly.”

Urban farming, solar energy production, the possible return of cheese making to Caerphilly, the potential of the scheme is clear.

Steve Aicheler, a community councillor from nearby Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen Community Council, has become involved in the early stages of setting up the new community interest company.

He said: “I think there is a huge amount of potential to turn this into a second tourist attraction – and one that is easily accessible by train.

“It is a lot more imaginative [than a housing development].”

The newly formed community interest company is working with social enterprise consultant Nick Small on the early-stage plans.

Liverpool-based Nick, who has seen similar grassroots projects come to fruition in north Wales, said: “This is about creating economic activity that will benefit people here, and that will have a better social benefit than building houses.

“How much social benefit would £20m give you if it was spent on remediation and housing, compared to if a fraction of that was spent on an eco hub?”

It must be stressed that the scheme is literally at the drawing board stage and the volunteer-led community interest company, which is being formed, is actively looking for people to get involved.

It will be holding a public consultation event at the Twyn Community Centre on September 3, on the day of the Little Cheese, between 12pm and 2pm. All are welcome.

If you would like to know more, please contact Lynn Gazal on caerphillyecohub@gmail.com or 07737073632.