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Delyth Jewell, who is the deputy leader of Plaid Cymru, is one of four regional Senedd Members serving the South Wales East region.

Senedd Members debated the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips Bill this week. It’s a long-overdue bill: indeed, the need for action on coal tips goes back decades, to a time before the Senedd even existed.

Our valleys’ coal tips are the legacy of an industry that shaped, and indeed, scarred our communities.  And what happened to us in our past should compel us to ensure that every coal tip in Wales is made safe, and that no community has to live with that fear again.  

Now, of course, legislation alone is not enough to make our communities safe. Adequate and long-term funding is absolutely essential. It’s clear that a significant amount of funding will be needed to clear these tips, perhaps £600 million. Much of that must come from Westminster.  

I have a deep concern about the bill as it’s drafted. Unless it’s amended, the bill could lead to private companies remediating coal tips as a guise for new coal extraction. Just as we are seeing in Bedwas, private companies could argue that they’re making communities safe from coal tips, as a reason for digging for yet more coal.

We cannot allow coal tips to become new coal mines, or allow our valleys to be plundered again for coal. That would turn our landscapes into a parade of profit, and make public safety an afterthought to money.

These tips are scars on our mountains, covering the wounds of our yesterdays. We can’t allow companies to cleave open those wounds again, and turn attempts at restoration into a mockery of mining.  

These tips must be cleared, and the expense must be met by Westminster. Private profit should not come anywhere near these operations. What an insult to our yesterdays that would be. What an insult to our towns’ tomorrows. 

I will be laying amendments to this bill to prevent this from happening. Now is our chance to stop coal miming for good in our communities – for the benefit of all.