5 hours Ago
THE decision not to use Westminster funding to make a water-filled former Amman Valley opencast mine safe is “a devastating blow for residents”, a Plaid MS said. Funding was made available from the UK Government which would allow for Welsh local authorities to apply for grants to make disused coal tips – both in public and private ownership – safe. However, the East Tip former opencast mine – which is now filled with 40 million cubic metres of water, sits 150m above the valley floor, and is above an active earthquake fault line – does not qualify for support.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said that any landforms at East Pit that met the definition of a disused tip would qualify for funding, but that the water-filled void would not. Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams, MS for South Wales West, said that this will be a “devastating blow” for residents. Ms Williams asked the Senedd whether funding for an independent assessment of the safety of the water-filled void could be found, including for surveys and reports from chartered engineers and hydrologists, and measures taken to address these risks.
Following the debate, Ms Williams said: “The residents of Tairgwaith, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Cwmllynfell have had East Pit and its associated potential dangers looming over them for many years. “The confirmation that none of the £25 million coming from Westminster will be spent on ensuring the site is safe will come as a devastating blow to a community that has fought hard to be heard. “East Pit isn’t just a historic scar of former industrial works.
It is a wound that is still very much open, causing pain and anxiety for so many in the surrounding communities. “Opencast mines provided enormous benefits to private companies at the expense of public authorities and communities. The companies first made their profits, then made their promises, but when it came time to fulfil their obligations, they made their exit.
“And now, for the residents who are left with what remains, no clear path exists to them to seek assurances. “If Westminster won’t pay to make good these former coal sites, then Welsh Government must intervene to ensure action is taken to safeguard communities who have been left to deal with this serious environmental aftermath of opencast mining.” A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to ensuring our coal tip communities are safe, both now and in the future.
“We are pleased the Chancellor has responded to our calls for funding to improve coal tip safety and has provided an additional £25 million for 2025-26 over and above the funding the Welsh Government provides every year to support local authorities to maintain and repair coal tips and invests in cutting-edge monitoring.”.
