A 608-acre former opencast coal mine site at Trimsaran in west Wales is to be transformed into a racecourse.

Carmarthenshire County Council has granted planning permission to Ffos Las Racing for the £16m project, which is expected to see its first event in mid-2005.

Plans for the development included an oval one mile, five furlong all-weather track with a grandstand, an equestrian centre, a polo club and an hotel.

The track will stage flat racing, hurdles and steeplechasing and has already been granted ten turf racing fixtures by the British Horse Racing Board.

Construction is scheduled to begin early next year, making it the first new racecourse to be built in the UK for 75 years.