UK Government urged to pay full cost of making coal tips across Wales safe

Plaid Cymru has reiterated its call for Westminster to pay the full £600m estimated cost of remediating coal tips in Wales over the next decade.

The Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill published today (9 December) has been described as an “important step” towards addressing safety risks of coal tips – but Plaid Cymru insists money is also needed from Westminster.

The UK Government failed to commit to fully fund the remediation of coal tips in the Autumn Budget, and announced just £25m, despite the issue pre-dating devolution.

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Landslide

Following a major landslide above Tylorstown in Rhondda Fach in 2020 and the recent landslide of a coal tip in Cwmtillery, Plaid Cymru says that long-term funding is needed to prevent the risk of future landslips amid increasingly extreme weather and tip instability.

Recent data revealed there are 350 unsafe coal tips across 14 Welsh local authorities areas, an increase of over 50 since 2021 due to the rapidly changing climate.

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Safety risks

The party’s spokesperson for Climate Change, Delyth Jewell MS said: “The Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill is an important step towards addressing the urgent safety risks posed by Wales’ disused coal tips.

“But legislation alone is not enough. With hundreds of high-risk tips and thousands more across the country, we cannot underestimate the urgency of the need to secure the full £600m from Westminster to remediate coal tips in Wales and prevent future disasters.

“Given the increasingly extreme weather we are experiencing, there is a heightened risk of landslides and tip instability. The £25m requested so far by the Welsh Government for coal tip clearance isn't going to get us very far.

“Coal tips serve as a daily reminder of the legacy of coal mining and our exploited past. Yet Westminster has consistently failed to take responsibility for this historical injustice.

“Plaid Cymru is clear: people across Wales deserve to feel safe in their homes. The UK Government must pay in full to make every coal tip in Wales safe – anything less would be a betrayal of the communities that powered the industrial revolution.”

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Request

The UK Government’s allocation of £25 million in the budget followed a request form Cabinet Secretary for Finance Mark Drakeford for £91m over the next three years.

First Minister Eluned Morgan told the Senedd last month that the new funding was only the beginning.

She said: “We are hoping that more will come in the future, and obviously we’ll continue those negotiations with the UK Government.”