Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters
From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today
Plans to restore an opencast coal mine should be called in by the Welsh Government, a Senedd Member has demanded.
Delyth Jewell, Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales East, has requested a call-in of the revised restoration plan for Ffos y Fran, which has been submitted to Merthyr Tydfil Council.
Ms Jewell said the application “downgrades the extent of restoration that was supposed to take place” at the recently-closed site, near Merthyr Tydfil.
What are the key elements of the revised restoration plan?
- A mound in the northern part of the site which is visible from parts of Merthyr and sections of the Heads of Valley Road, A4060 and surrounding area, would be reduced in height, reprofiled and grass seeded;
- Sections of exposed rock on the western side of the mound would be kept as open scree and as a geological feature for visual amenity and providing potential habitat for lichens and mosses as well as possibly a suitable location for breeding birds such as ravens and peregrines;
- Two other mounds would remain largely as they appear today, and the lower slopes grass seeded and planted with native tree species;
- Old reservoirs, dams and leats that remain from previous phases of mining activity, including the Dowlais free drainage system, would be kept and improved for biodiversity. Other water bodies such as settlement lagoons used in the earlier phases of Ffos y Fran would also be kept and protected;
- The groundwater lake that has formed naturally in the main void would be kept with shallow banks and margins around the shores of the lake. The surrounding slopes of the lake would be “re-profiled” and planted with native trees to form a mixed woodland;
- Demolition and removal of existing buildings associated with the operational mine such as workshops used for vehicle maintenance and storage of materials such as fuel and machinery would be demolished and removed from the site;
- A proportion of the site would be returned to urban common as rough grazing land which would require areas to be fenced off;
- Areas outside the urban common would be prepared for habitats to be created with grassland, woodland, open cliff, wetland, flushes and heath;
- Land adjacent to A4060 would be “reprofiled” to provide potential for future light industrial use and grass seeded for general amenity until opportunities for development come forward;
- Creation of a network of footpaths, public rights of way and a byway open to all traffic.
She continued: “The mining company stated back in April 2023 that they would not be spending any more money than that which they had already paid into the escrow account, despite them being contractually obligated to deliver the final restoration at whatever cost to them.”
The Plaid Cymru deputy leader said residents had “suffered 17 years of opencast mining on their doorstep” and said there were concerns the application “could have wide effects beyond their immediate locality”.
The license to extract coal from Ffos y Fran expired in September 2022. However, local residents reported that the mine was still operating – illegally – many months after this before the site was finally closed in November 2023.
An application to extend operations at the mine was turned down by Merthyr Tydfil Council in 2023.
Between 2007 and 2023, around 11 million tonnes of coal was extracted from the site.
Now plans for a new restoration scheme have been submitted, but residents have voiced their disappointment, saying they want the one previously agreed to be delivered.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are working with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and other regulators as part of a technical working group to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved for local people.”
Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd has been contacted for comment.
Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters
From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts.
Become a member today