Latest news with #Irranca-Davies
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Welsh Government funding of £19m will help protect ancient woodlands
The funding aligns with the government's newly-outlined strategy to enhance the protection of Wales' ancient woodlands and trees. Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs, said: "Wales' ancient woodlands are of international importance and have an important place in the landscape and history, protecting carbon-rich soils and seed banks beneath them. "They take centuries to form and are an irreplaceable resource." As part of this new approach, the government will focus on improving the resilience of temperate rainforests, as pointed out by the Alliance for Wales' Rainforests. Mr Irranca-Davies said: "Planning Policy Wales has been strengthened to provide a stronger framework for local planning authorities to secure the protection of ancient trees and woodland. "We are revising our Tree Preservation Order regulations as part of the work on the Planning (Wales) Bill." The Welsh government also made recent amendments to forestry legislation, which now allows Natural Resources Wales to better protect veteran trees and ancient woodland during felling operations. Further initiatives include the implementation of recommendations from the four-year review of the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021. These will introduce measures specifically designed to contribute to achieving statutory emission reduction commitments. Under the Sustainable Farming Scheme proposals, optional actions will be provided to manage existing woodlands, including ancient woodlands, to increase their condition and resilience. The government will engage with stakeholders and consider budget availability before implementing these actions. The strategy also includes initiatives to improve air quality and reduce air pollution's negative impact on ancient woodland sites. The National Forest for Wales programme has provided support to restore and maintain ancient woodland through various schemes. Mr Irranca-Davies said: "Our approach does not intend to be an exhaustive list of all the possible threats and interventions, but a focus on the strategic priorities. "It brings together work across government departments and their stakeholders which strengthen protection for our irreplaceable ancient woodlands."
Wales Online
30-04-2025
- General
- Wales Online
Public body to be set up to protect people in Wales from dangers of coal tips
Public body to be set up to protect people in Wales from dangers of coal tips A series of concerns have however been raised about the law A new law which will set up a public body to ensure Wales' coal tips do not threaten the safety of people living near them has received unanimous backing in the Senedd. The Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill will update outdated legislation from the late 1960s. Concerns about the condition of Wales' coal tips came to light following a landslide at a disused coal tip in Tylorstown in Rhondda Cynon Taf in February 2020. It emerged there was no standard categorisation or list of who was responsible for the 2,573 coal tips in Wales. The Welsh Government ordered a review of the safety of coal tips across Wales, and inspections and maintenance of tips with the potential to impact public safety. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here It found 360 are in the most serious categories (D and C). In January, some were reclassified, you can see those here. There was then another major slip in November 2024, when heavy rainfall during Storm Bert contributed to a tip slip in Cwmtilliery in Blaenau Gwent which meant 40 houses had to be evacuated due to deep slurry and debris running down the hillside. The Welsh Government's subsequent law about coal tips has now cleared its first hurdle in the Senedd. The main aim of it is to set up the Disused Tips Authority for Wales, a public body which will be tasked to "ensure that disused tips do not threaten human welfare by reason of their instability". Article continues below That will be operational from April 1, 2027 and will be responsible for compiling and maintaining a register of disused tips, and have a duty to monitor tips, however there is no detail about the frequency or nature of this monitoring. While the bill did pass its first stage in the Senedd unanimously, there have been concerns raised during the scrutiny process before that, namely that there is a lack of detail in it. Under the current proposals, the register of disused tips will only contain those tips which in the authority's view are a threat, or a potential threat, to human welfare by reason of instability. The climate change committee called for the register to also include those disused tips that have been assessed but not categorised. There is also a lack of statutory management plans for tips. There were also fears raised that the bill could inadvertently stimulate re-mining of disused coal tips if owners are told they face expensive bills to make them safe, private remediation companies may bring forward proposals to remediate tips, at no cost to the owner, in return for selling the extracted 'waste coal'. That was shot down by Wales' climate minister Huw Irranca-Davies. Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Irranca-Davies said: "The bill will bring about significant improvements to the current regime under the Mines And Quarries (Tips) Act 1969, in particular establishing a lower threshold for intervention and providing the authority with appropriate powers of entry to any land where necessary for the exercise of certain functions. It also places on a firm legislative footing the key elements of the new management regime, such as a register of categorised disused tips, which is the foundation upon which the rest of the provisions in the bill are built." Climate change committee chair Llyr Gruffydd said more than half the committee's recommendations were to ensure the new regime is "robust, effective and instils public confidence" but said there is a "recurring theme" about a "lack of detail". He said it was "unsatisfactory" that detail will come in guidance, rather than the bill, as "it means that the Welsh Government's policy intentions are not clear". He said the fact it will not be in place in 2027 will also mean it is the government formed after the Senedd election in 2026 which will determine the detail of the policy. "Of course, guidance does have a role to play in ensuring that the effective implementation of the Bill takes place, but it should not be used to fill in important policy details that we would expect ordinarily to be set out in legislation, in order to, of course, provide proper democratic oversight," he said. Mike Hedges, who chairs the legislation committee, said: "Our main concern with the bill is that the Welsh Government is relying too heavily on the use of guidance to deliver the bill's objectives. We therefore concluded that there was an inappropriate balance between provisions that will be on the face of the bill or left to regulations versus what is to be left to guidance." Finance committee chair Peredur Owen Griffiths raised concerns about the financial information which was provided by the Welsh Government and costs of staff and where they would come from. "Although we heard assurances from the Deputy First Minister that there are sufficient funds to undertake all the work required to make land that contains a disused tip safe, we are concerned that these funds might be allocated on a first come, first served basis," he said. However, he said Mr Irranca-Davies had said applications for higher rated tips are to be prioritised over those for lower rated tips. Article continues below
Sky News
09-04-2025
- General
- Sky News
Welsh government can't guarantee lives won't be lost in another coal tip disaster
It is "difficult" to give a "cast iron guarantee" that lives won't be lost because of a coal tip disaster, the deputy first minister of Wales has told Sky News. Nearly 60 years since the Aberfan disaster, which killed 144 people when coal waste slid down the side of a mountain into a school, £130m has been invested in securing waste left behind by coal mining operations. Earlier this year, the Welsh government said up to £600m could be needed to secure coal tips across the nation. Olivia White, who lives beneath a disused coal heap in Cwmtillery that has been deemed a potential risk to public safety, says she is living with "horrific fear every day, waking up thinking we're lucky we're here again today". Ms White's home was one of around 40 evacuated when part of the coal tip collapsed last year. She says she will never forget opening the door and "thick, dirty sludge pouring through". She warned: "I think it is going to take somebody to die or something awful to happen until they realise how serious this is. That's what it feels like. Aberfan just lingers over me all the time". Her neighbour, Zara Cotterell, says it was "very lucky" that children weren't playing outside at that time. She says: "It was 7.30pm, if it was 5.30pm the street above would have had all the children playing; it took a car, it took a garage, it would have taken lives." Work is under way to secure the tip at Cwmtillery, which could collapse again, but both women say they feel "no one is listening" to them. There are 2,573 disused coal tips across Wales, 360 of which are categorised as having a potential impact on public safety. Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies says he can give people an "absolute guarantee" that no expense is being spared to fix the problem. However, he said it is "pretty difficult" to give a "cast iron guarantee" that people are safe. "It's an almost impossible question," he said. Mr Irranca-Davies said the Welsh government has spent the last five years assessing which tips are the most high risk and work is starting to secure them. He added that the £600m figure is a long-term goal to totally clear the tips, not all of which are high risk. In the autumn budget, the UK government provided the Welsh government with £25m for essential work on disused coal tips. The Welsh finance minister Mark Drakeford is seeking a £91m commitment over three years from Westminster. Mr Irranca-Davies says it is "great" that "after years of asking" there has been a contribution from the UK government. Wales Secretary Jo Stevens says she wants people to feel reassured that coal tips are being inspected regularly and the "significant sum of money" given in the autumn budget will deal with the risks. Plaid Cymru says the £25m from Westminster falls short of what should be paid, adding that Wales "can't afford to wait for a tragedy to happen". Delyth Jewell, a member of the Senedd for South Wales East, says the coal tips are "ticking time bombs" and "Westminster should be paying to clear these tips". "Money, it's not a question of [it] should be found. Money has to be found because this is correcting a historic injustice that should never have happened," she said. "And if they can't prioritise clearing the coal tips in the valleys, who do they even represent? Who do they stand for?
Telegraph
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Don't think the bans will stop with greyhounds. They'll come for horse racing next
I hadn't realised it until this week, but Wales appears to be the only country in the world with so few problems that its government has to imagine some to keep itself occupied. Its healthcare system must be flawless. Its schools are presumably the envy of the world and crime non-existent. It's difficult to draw any other conclusion from the announcement on Tuesday by Wales's Deputy First Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, of his government's latest priority. Forget the NHS, schools or crime: what really matters to the Welsh government is stopping dogs from running around Wales's only greyhound racing stadium, the Valley in Ystrad Mynach. Mr Irranca-Davies told members of the Senedd that greyhound racing will be banned in Wales 'as soon as practically possible' – which, he said, could be before the next Welsh Parliament election in May 2026. Be in no doubt what is going on here. For many years so-called animal rights groups have targeted any pursuits in which humans use animals. The claims made by activists are almost always wildly exaggerated, based on their belief that no human should ever exercise power over an animal. They don't put it like that, of course, since it is patently mad, so they use spurious supposed facts about animal welfare, and politicians too weak or stupid to think for themselves then do the bidding of the fanatics. Greyhound racing is no longer as popular as it once was but it still attracts 1.2 million spectators a year, particularly in the Midlands and around London. Although the prime focus of these campaigners is horse racing, greyhound racing is an easy target since it lacks the lobbying power of horse racing, a huge industry which generates £3.7 billion for the economy and is the second biggest spectator sport after football. And since there is only one greyhound track in Wales it really is a soft target. The Welsh government has held not a single meeting with anyone involved in greyhound racing, because when you are captured by the animal rights crowd there is no place for rational thought and evidence – as the campaign against horse racing shows. Worryingly, those involved in defending racing often fail to understand this. The usual response, for example, is that there is a need for 'engagement', with TV pundits offering to take activists around stables so they can see how incredibly well racehorses are looked after. But this completely misses the point. The campaigners aren't interested in facts, because their obsession is not about animals: it's about themselves. For these people, protest and campaigning is its own purpose. One day it's racing, the next Gaza, and the next oil. Their actions are the consequence of the perversion of higher education, under the illusion that their juvenile ideas are the result of critical thinking rather than the postmodern drivel that has infected their minds. There is a video on social media of Kevin Blake, the ITV racing pundit, asking one of campaigners what he plans to do with the 18,000 thoroughbreds in training in Britain if racing is banned. His inability even to comprehend the question, let alone to deal with it, says everything. The animal rights brigade have now formed a pincer movement with anti-gambling campaigners, whose use of false and wholly misleading statistics would shame a snake oil salesman. They are aided by the Gambling Commission, which acts as if it is driven by contempt for the very activity it exists to regulate. And the fall guy for all this is horse racing, which faces a determined threat to its existence. The snuffing out of greyhound racing may seem like small beer, but the worry is that it is a foretaste of the future.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Don't think the bans will stop with greyhounds. They'll come for horse racing next
I hadn't realised it until this week, but Wales appears to be the only country in the world with so few problems that its government has to imagine some to keep itself occupied. Its healthcare system must be flawless. Its schools are presumably the envy of the world and crime non-existent. It's difficult to draw any other conclusion from the announcement on Tuesday by Wales's Deputy First Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, of his government's latest priority. Forget the NHS, schools or crime: what really matters to the Welsh government is stopping dogs from running around Wales's only greyhound racing stadium, the Valley in Ystrad Mynach. Mr Irranca-Davies told members of the Senedd that greyhound racing will be banned in Wales 'as soon as practically possible' – which, he said, could be before the next Welsh Parliament election in May 2026. Be in no doubt what is going on here. For many years so-called animal rights groups have targeted any pursuits in which humans use animals. The claims made by activists are almost always wildly exaggerated, based on their belief that no human should ever exercise power over an animal. They don't put it like that, of course, since it is patently mad, so they use spurious supposed facts about animal welfare, and politicians too weak or stupid to think for themselves then do the bidding of the fanatics. Greyhound racing is no longer as popular as it once was but it still attracts 1.2 million spectators a year, particularly in the Midlands and around London. Although the prime focus of these campaigners is horse racing, greyhound racing is an easy target since it lacks the lobbying power of horse racing, a huge industry which generates £3.7 billion for the economy and is the second biggest spectator sport after football. And since there is only one greyhound track in Wales it really is a soft target. The Welsh government has held not a single meeting with anyone involved in greyhound racing, because when you are captured by the animal rights crowd there is no place for rational thought and evidence – as the campaign against horse racing shows. Worryingly, those involved in defending racing often fail to understand this. The usual response, for example, is that there is a need for 'engagement', with TV pundits offering to take activists around stables so they can see how incredibly well racehorses are looked after. But this completely misses the point. The campaigners aren't interested in facts, because their obsession is not about animals: it's about themselves. For these people, protest and campaigning is its own purpose. One day it's racing, the next Gaza, and the next oil. Their actions are the consequence of the perversion of higher education, under the illusion that their juvenile ideas are the result of critical thinking rather than the postmodern drivel that has infected their minds. There is a video on social media of Kevin Blake, the ITV racing pundit, asking one of campaigners what he plans to do with the 18,000 thoroughbreds in training in Britain if racing is banned. His inability even to comprehend the question, let alone to deal with it, says everything. The animal rights brigade have now formed a pincer movement with anti-gambling campaigners, whose use of false and wholly misleading statistics would shame a snake oil salesman. They are aided by the Gambling Commission, which acts as if it is driven by contempt for the very activity it exists to regulate. And the fall guy for all this is horse racing, which faces a determined threat to its existence. The snuffing out of greyhound racing may seem like small beer, but the worry is that it is a foretaste of the future. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
