Wales coal tips will never be safe because the money needed is 'so enormous'
MPs were told the current funding allocated to coal tip safety in Wales just 'scratches the surface'
The site of a landslide at a coal tip in Tylorstown in February 2020
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
There will more than likely never be enough funding for the risk posed by disused coal tips in Wales to be taken away, MPs have been told.
Representatives from three Welsh councils appeared in front of the House of Commons' Welsh affairs committee on Wednesday morning (June 11) and explained why funding announcements for coal tips are welcome, they only "scratch the surface" of the scale of the problem within their local authorities.
The committee was held just hours before chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the UK Government will give Wales £118m over the next three financial years to "keep coal tips safe in Wales".
Wales' First Minister Eluned Morgan explained that the amount pledged by the UK Government was the maximum they had asked for from their UK Labour counterparts.
The Welsh Government previously said £600m is needed to remediate the dangerous legacy of mining in the south Wales valleys and is carrying out mapping of recorded coal tips in order to provide a more up-to-date cost estimate. That figure is not yet available.
However, adding together the UK and Welsh Government money, the total allocated to making coal tips safe in Wales currently sits at £221m. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
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The Welsh Government had long said it shouldn't have to foot the bill for issues arising from something that happened before devolution. You can read more on that here.
Mark Williams, representing Caerphilly County Borough Council, told the committee that it is unlikely that funding allocated to coal tip safety will be enough to completely eliminate any risk from the tips. He added that the the funding does not currently address any remediation costs and just "scratches the surface" in terms of monitoring and maintenance.
He said: "The funding that the Welsh and UK Governments have passported through in terms of tips has been very helpful. It enables us to manage the sites that we have - monitor them, undertake any remedial or emergency works to avoid problems in the future - perhaps an Aberfan or a Tylorstown.
"What it doesn't do is allow the risk to be completely taken away. I'm not sure we'll get there because the bill is absolutely enormous."
Nicola Pearce, from Neath Port Talbot Council, explained that the majority of the £14.48m of funding which has been allocated to her local authority since 2020, has only been spent on one scheme for one tip.
She told the committee: "The funding we've had since 2020 has allowed us to undertake significant work on one large pit, Dyffryn Rhondda Tip , which was a concern due to its instability.
"Out of the £14.48m of funding that scheme, which is still being delivered, will have cost £12m by the time it's completed - and that's just one scheme.
"We have 617 tips within Neath Port Talbot so that gives you an understanding of the cost of remediating these tips and making them safe compared to the scale of the problem we have in Wales - there is quite a disparity."
Ms Pearce, Mr Williams and Jacqueline Mynott, representing Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, all told the committee that they welcome funding and the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill introduced by the Welsh Government, but said greater funding for coal tip safety was needed from the UK Government as a priority.
Ms Mynott said climate change causes a particular problem for coal tips, including those that were remediated in the 1970s and 80s. "We need to review those sites in the context of climate change and rain forecasts to revise the risk and that needs funding," she explained.
Mr Williams agreed that former tip sites remediated years ago still need to be monitored. " The tips are still there so with climate change, water management and drainage can become an issue.
"The major challenge is the amount of water and drainage issues that tips can throw up with climate change, which is obviously what happened with Tylorstown."
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