THE Circuit of Wales has moved a step closer after a Welsh Government deputy minister said she supports an application from developers to use land for the project. 

The Heads of the Valleys Development Company (HOTVDC) has said their £315 million Ebbw Vale race track development will bring 6,000 full time jobs and an annual 750,000 visitors.

It was told by the Welsh Government’s deputy minister for farming and food Rebecca Evans today that she is “minded to grant them” their section 16 application to deregister common land, subject to consultation with people who would be affected by the project.

It is thought her formal decision will be granted by October. A public inquiry into the plan was held in March.

The 830-acre development would be located next to the Rassau Industrial Estate.

The HOTVDC’s chief executive Michael Carrick said: “We thank the minister for her willingness to grant the S16 application, subject to us fulfilling the prior agreements with the commoners as explained within the application. This is an important step in the process to de-register the common land and we will continue to work towards a successful conclusion in 2015.

“We would like to thank local councils, Welsh Assembly Members and the local community who have supported the project throughout the planning process up to this point and in the future. The Circuit of Wales has the ability to produce thousands of employment opportunities, attract greater investment and kick start regeneration into Blaenau Gwent and South Wales.”

The deputy minister said: “Having considered the application I am minded to grant the application but I feel that I cannot make a formal decision until the rights of the commoners which are presently registered as rights of common exercisable over the release land have been deregistered.”

And Blaenau Gwent AM Alun Davies said: "I warmly welcome this decision from the minister. It's the latest in a long and exhausting process. This project has enormous potential for whole region and I hope that we can now begin to put these planning issues behind us and move forward quickly with the construction of this transformative project."