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Fears that a project to make coal tips safer could turn into an opencast mine are unfounded, the company planning the work has said.

Work on council-owned Bedwas’ coal tips could last between five and ten years if company ERI Restoration is given planning permission.

The proposal comes after a Welsh Government review of coal tips deemed Bedwas “high-risk”.

The Welsh Government has stressed the tips aren’t necessarily ‘unsafe’; but due to the height and make-up of them, there is a risk that run-off water could cause an incident below.

Currently at the consultation phase, if planning is approved, ERI will remove around 500,000 tonnes of coal.

As well as levelling the tips to make them safer, ERI will be digging up soil from deep within them and relaying it on top, so vegetation can grow and absorb water.

According to ERI, once the consultation period has ended, they will submit a planning application that if approved will allow them to start work on the site in September 2024.

The project would be funded completely by the coal ERI extracts from the tips.

Although private sector intervention has been generally welcomed by politicians – with the cost of restoring just one tip estimated to be between £30million and £40m – questions have been asked over the restoration element of the project.

Campaigner and Fochriw community councillor Eddy Blanche has drawn parallels between this project and the controversial opencast coal mine at Ffos-y-Fran – which initially began as a restoration project 15-years-ago.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer, Cllr Blanche said: “A lot of people don’t realise that the Ffos-y-Fan project isn’t actually an opencast mining one.

“The company in charge at that time promised they’d be taking what coal they’d need to fund the restoration efforts, when in reality it was all about profit and the people of Merthyr have been left with a huge hole in the ground.

“These companies can’t be trusted. Unless we see some form of bond or bank account set-up with money put aside specifically for the restoration period, this could turn into another Ffos-y-Fan.”

Asked who should be responsible for making the tips safe, Cllr Blanche, who is also chairman of the United Valleys Action Group, said: “It was the UK Government and Coal Authority who put us in this mess and I think it should be their job to fix it.

“I don’t think the Welsh Government should have to pay. In an ideal world they’d receive funding from central government.”

When asked about the comparison with Ffos-y-Fan, ERI said: “We are a restoration company, not an opencast mining business.

“Our last project, completed in 2013 was Six Bells [in Abertillery], which has won wide acclaim for the quality of the work carried out.

“As we restore and move the tips to a safe position, we recover around 7% coal which covers the cost of the remediation and prevents the spoil from ever catching fire. The work is carried out in a patchwork fashion, meaning the land is restored as we move through the tips.”

Asked specifically about financial assurances in the way of a bond/bank account if the business was to go bust, a spokesperson said: “We will have in place a bond to cover the position, should we ever find ourselves in a situation where we need to stop the project, however we are confident this will not be the case, as we have 40 years’ experience in remediating tips.

“ERI has to date spent well over £750,000 in testing the tips, analysis, environmental impact assessments and all this without achieving planning. We are therefore wholly committed to delivering a successful project and giving back to the residents an amenity space which will deliver for many years to come.”

Since Caerphilly Observer first reported the details surrounding the work, which will involve 18 to 20 lorries a day travelling back and forth the site via a forest track down the Cwmfelinfach side of the mountain, the council has stressed that planning permission has yet to be granted and that the application will be “subject to detailed scrutiny and public consultation”.

Leader of the council, Sean Morgan, was also keen to “provide reassurances to local residents”.

He said: “If a formal planning application is received, then appropriate consultation will take place so that all stakeholders in the community have the opportunity to provide feedback, before the matter is determined by the planning committee.”  

“I hope this helps clarify the current position and please be assured that any such scheme would be subject to robust scrutiny and would also require a range of conditions and control measures to minimise the impact of any planned works.”

Janine Reed, Independent councillor for the Ynysddu ward, initially raised concerns over the haulage route the lorries would be making, as well as the noise of machinery.

However, Cllr Reed’s biggest concern now is that herself and fellow Cllr Jan Jones have been “frozen out” of discussions by the council.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer, she said: “I’m furious. Bedwas councillors have been consulted from the very beginning of this project, and just because we’ve been critical of the proposed project we’ve been frozen out.

“The documents released by ERI stated from the beginning that this was a partnership between themselves and the council, but whenever we asked the council for details about meetings, they told us none had taken place.

“The council has a vested interest in this site. They own the land which is being reclaimed and will look to sell it on to a property developer once it has been restored. It all stinks to be honest.”

These claims were put to Caerphilly County Borough Council who declined to address them.

Councillor Nigel Dix, of Blackwood, who leads the Independent group on Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “I have asked for a delay in submitting an application until the council have consulted with the two ward councillors in Ynysddu.

“This needs to go back to the drawing board so everybody affected can have their say.”