Coal, Climate Change and Community: The Case of Ffos-y-Fran
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16 | <strong>Coal</strong>, <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Community</strong><br />
<strong>Coal</strong>, <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>Community</strong>:<br />
the case <strong>of</strong> <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong><br />
Lydia Godden reports from <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong>, which<br />
may finally mark an end to opencast coal mining in<br />
Wales, <strong>and</strong> argues that discussion about how we deal<br />
with cleaning up our industrial past is long overdue<br />
Pictures: Elijah Thomas
the welsh agenda issue 71 | 17<br />
‘ People have been just put<br />
down <strong>and</strong> put down, you<br />
know, in the end, they just<br />
get fed up’<br />
<strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> opencast coal mine in Merthyr Tydfil<br />
has been the subject <strong>of</strong> community opposition<br />
since the very beginning. However, the mine<br />
operator, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, recently notified<br />
the Welsh Government in an open letter that it will be<br />
ceasing all operations on 30 November 2023. Significant<br />
questions remain surrounding the mounting restoration<br />
costs, estimated around £65m; the admission from the<br />
mine owner <strong>of</strong> a shortfall <strong>of</strong> at least £50m, <strong>and</strong> concerns<br />
for the futures <strong>of</strong> the mine’s 180 workers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ‘l<strong>and</strong> reclamation scheme’ at <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> is<br />
the final phase <strong>of</strong> a plan by the former Merthyr Tydfil<br />
Borough Council to l<strong>and</strong>scape an area <strong>of</strong> derelict <strong>and</strong><br />
dangerous industrial wastel<strong>and</strong>. Due to the huge costs<br />
involved <strong>and</strong> tight council budgets, the operators were<br />
permitted to mine the l<strong>and</strong>, if – in exchange – they<br />
would use a share <strong>of</strong> the pr<strong>of</strong>its generated to l<strong>and</strong>scape<br />
<strong>and</strong> backfill the opencast, eventually to restore the site to<br />
common l<strong>and</strong>, providing a safe green space for the local<br />
community. <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> opencast mine was approved by<br />
the Welsh Government (then Assembly) in 2005, <strong>and</strong> set<br />
up to excavate a million tonnes <strong>of</strong> coal annually, making<br />
it one <strong>of</strong> Europe’s largest opencast sites.<br />
However, for the local communities that surround<br />
the opencast, life has not been the same since. While the<br />
site has provided employment opportunities for some, for<br />
others <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> has had a detrimental impact on their<br />
daily life. For years, the ‘Residents Against <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong>’<br />
group led a fierce campaign highlighting serious health<br />
concerns related to noise, visual <strong>and</strong> dust pollution.<br />
In 2017 the UN called for an independent investigation<br />
into allegations <strong>of</strong> cancer clusters <strong>and</strong> high childhood<br />
asthma rates among residents. This was never conducted.<br />
Meanwhile mining continues with some homes located<br />
just 40 metres from the site. Evidently, living next to<br />
Britain’s biggest opencast has taken its toll.<br />
Another campaign against <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> has been<br />
led for almost two decades by local residents Chris<br />
<strong>and</strong> Alyson Austin, who explain how many people in<br />
the industrial, working class community <strong>of</strong> Merthyr<br />
Tydfil now feel powerless. ‘People have been just put<br />
down <strong>and</strong> put down, you know, in the end, they just get<br />
fed up,’ explains Chris. ‘Nobody’s got the confidence<br />
really, in themselves, to be able to think that they can<br />
make a difference,’ adds Alyson. <strong>The</strong>y question if a<br />
development <strong>of</strong> this scale, along with its harmful toll
18 | <strong>Coal</strong>, <strong>Climate</strong> <strong>Change</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Community</strong><br />
on local communities would be permitted in middle<br />
class communities across the border. Alyson feels that<br />
many people think: ‘Wales is the crap end <strong>of</strong> the UK, <strong>and</strong><br />
Merthyr is the crap end <strong>of</strong> Wales’ – where local people are<br />
expected to be grateful for any job <strong>and</strong> just accept what<br />
she describes as ‘the crumbs’. <strong>The</strong>se negative perceptions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the area, they argue, has led to a general feeling held by<br />
many locals that the mine operators are untouchable <strong>and</strong><br />
not accountable for the harm to local residents.<br />
Recent events at <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> would have only<br />
further embedded these feelings. When planning<br />
permission expired in September 2022, many residents<br />
hoped this would mark the end <strong>of</strong> mining <strong>and</strong> the start<br />
<strong>of</strong> the restoration work. Instead, the operators caused<br />
further outrage by continuing to mine at the site. Just<br />
days before the expiration <strong>of</strong> permission, the mine<br />
owner had applied for an extension to continue mining<br />
operations for an additional nine months. Once again,<br />
residents pushed for action to be taken. For eight<br />
months, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council <strong>and</strong><br />
the Welsh Government took no enforcement action.<br />
It was not until April 2023 that Merthyr Tydfil County<br />
Borough Council finally rejected the application, later<br />
putting in place an enforcement notice against the<br />
mine operator. Despite this, mining at <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong><br />
opencast has not stopped, with the ongoing daily<br />
environmental impact <strong>of</strong> mining estimated to produce<br />
the equivalent to c.4,000 tonnes <strong>of</strong> CO2 every day.<br />
In August 2023, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd<br />
announced plans to finally cease mining operations on<br />
30 November. Meanwhile extraction continues, with no<br />
certainty about where the pr<strong>of</strong>its are going. <strong>The</strong> power<br />
to put an immediate end to this lies with both the local<br />
council <strong>and</strong> the Welsh Government, who have the<br />
powers to issue a ‘stop’ notice. <strong>The</strong>y have not yet done so.<br />
It is precisely these inactions that has led the<br />
environmental group <strong>Coal</strong> Action Network to file for<br />
a Judicial Review against both Merthyr Tydfil County<br />
Borough Council <strong>and</strong> the Welsh Government. With<br />
support from the Good Law Project, they accuse<br />
both parties <strong>of</strong> failing in their duties to protect local<br />
residents – <strong>and</strong> potentially breaking the law – by<br />
putting <strong>of</strong>f an enforcement decision to stop the illegal<br />
extraction <strong>of</strong> coal at <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong>, actions they argue<br />
equate to ‘maladministration’.<br />
While the end <strong>of</strong> mining at <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> may<br />
potentially be in sight, significant challenges remain.<br />
<strong>The</strong> operator has confirmed mass redundancies for all<br />
180 workers, <strong>and</strong> there appears to be a significant lack<br />
<strong>of</strong> forecasting <strong>and</strong> preparation to protect these workers.<br />
Local campaigner Chris Austin argues this is a dereliction<br />
<strong>of</strong> duty from the mine operator who had an agreed<br />
‘obligation’ to provide support packages to workers.<br />
‘Nothing has been put in place for them at all. <strong>The</strong>y’re<br />
just using them as pawns to try <strong>and</strong> leverage planning<br />
consent or to leverage whatever political argument that<br />
they’re trying to get… So they failed them. <strong>The</strong> local<br />
authorities failed them. <strong>The</strong> Welsh Government has failed<br />
them’. <strong>The</strong> Welsh Government has confirmed they are in<br />
talks with trade unions <strong>and</strong> the mine owner regarding<br />
the workers’ futures. With restoration works said to take<br />
two to three years to complete, there will be a future for<br />
workers at the site but a clear package <strong>of</strong> support <strong>and</strong> just<br />
transition is evidently required.<br />
<strong>The</strong> longer term challenge now facing both the Welsh<br />
Government <strong>and</strong> Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council<br />
lies in the daunting costs <strong>of</strong> filling the gaping opencast <strong>and</strong><br />
securing the local environment. To ensure the necessary<br />
reclamation funds were set aside, an escrow account was<br />
held by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council <strong>and</strong> the
the welsh agenda issue 71 | 19<br />
mine operators were legally obliged to deposit reclamation<br />
funds. Despite this, in 2014 the Welsh Government’s own<br />
investigation found that just £15m had been deposited,<br />
warning that this sum fell ‘well short <strong>of</strong> a worst case<br />
restoration cost which could be in excess <strong>of</strong> £50m’.<br />
Nearly ten years on from that report, the local council<br />
revealed that the escrow account balance still st<strong>and</strong>s at<br />
£15m. All the while, estimated costs for restoration have<br />
grown. In their application for an extension, the mine<br />
owner admitted they had not set aside enough money<br />
to fund the restoration work, requesting more time to<br />
mine in order to fund the restoration. If not permitted,<br />
they warned the restoration bill would fall on the<br />
council. This put the local council in a difficult position<br />
– knowing they had to reject the extension while also<br />
aware they cannot complete the restoration relying<br />
solely on limited budgets, <strong>and</strong> would require financial<br />
support. However, local campaigners, along with <strong>Coal</strong><br />
Action Network, argue the local authority <strong>and</strong> Welsh<br />
government should have known this day would come.<br />
And <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> is not an isolated example. Littered<br />
across the l<strong>and</strong>scape <strong>of</strong> south Wales are a number <strong>of</strong><br />
ab<strong>and</strong>oned opencast mines. Gigantic holes <strong>of</strong> scorched<br />
earth, full <strong>of</strong> harmful mining waste materials left to<br />
pollute the local environment. Once a mining company<br />
has extracted all <strong>of</strong> their potential pr<strong>of</strong>its <strong>and</strong> taken their<br />
last piece <strong>of</strong> coal no more pr<strong>of</strong>it can be made by continuing<br />
operations. Companies have endlessly relied on planning<br />
extensions to continue mining in order to raise restoration<br />
funds until either the coal runs out, or extensions are<br />
denied. For owners, holding up their end <strong>of</strong> the bargain<br />
<strong>and</strong> restoring the l<strong>and</strong> eats away at pr<strong>of</strong>its. So they<br />
liquidate, syphon <strong>of</strong>f assets <strong>and</strong> avoid restoration costs by<br />
exploiting legal loopholes or declaring bankruptcy.<br />
Infamously, Celtic Energy Ltd owned a number <strong>of</strong><br />
opencasts across Wales <strong>and</strong> transferred l<strong>and</strong> ownership,<br />
along with restoration obligations, to a shell company<br />
they had set up. <strong>The</strong>y walked away with pr<strong>of</strong>its while<br />
their sites East Pit, Margam, Selar <strong>and</strong> Nant Helen were<br />
given a sub-st<strong>and</strong>ard partial restoration, leaving them at<br />
a serious risk to the local environment <strong>and</strong> residents. As<br />
Alyson Austin explains, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough<br />
Council were aware <strong>of</strong> the likelihood <strong>of</strong> this occurring at<br />
<strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> <strong>and</strong> were even warned at the very beginning.<br />
‘<strong>The</strong>y should have seen this coming, it’s st<strong>and</strong>ard practice<br />
isn’t it… they mine, they leave the hole, then they go onto<br />
the next extension then to pay for that’.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Good Law Project investigation recently found<br />
that Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd have chosen to pay out<br />
£49.89m in dividends <strong>and</strong> royalties, while the restoration<br />
fund faces a shortfall <strong>of</strong> at least £50m. Furthermore,<br />
they also discovered that the parent company, Gwent<br />
Holdings Ltd, which is controlled by the same family<br />
who own <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> reported cash holdings <strong>of</strong> £81.7m<br />
in March this year. Despite this, the mine operators insist<br />
they have ‘insufficient funds’ to pay for a full restoration<br />
<strong>and</strong> are reported to be in negotiations with Merthyr Tydfil<br />
County Borough Council for a reduced restoration cost.<br />
Given the harmful legacy <strong>of</strong> opencast mining in<br />
South Wales, <strong>Coal</strong> Action Network argue it is time to<br />
call an end to opencast mining in Wales, once <strong>and</strong> for<br />
all. With the recent refusal <strong>of</strong> Carmarthenshire County<br />
Council to extend the Glan Lash opencast, <strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong><br />
now remains the last active opencast coal mine in Wales.<br />
<strong>The</strong> timeline <strong>of</strong> events surrounding Glan Lash were a<br />
familiar tale. While mining was set to cease in 2016, with<br />
a complete restoration by 2017, the opencast remains<br />
derelict <strong>and</strong> unrestored. <strong>The</strong> owners Bryn Bach <strong>Coal</strong><br />
Ltd had applied for an extension to continue mining in<br />
order to fund their restoration duties. Nevertheless, in<br />
spite <strong>of</strong> this Councillors voted unanimously to reject<br />
the extension citing concerns regarding the local impact<br />
<strong>of</strong> dust pollution on communities <strong>and</strong> protection <strong>of</strong><br />
local ecosystems. While only time will tell if the full<br />
restoration promised will go ahead at both Glan Lash <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>Ffos</strong>-y-<strong>Fran</strong> opencast mines, the information available<br />
provides a bleak forecast. <strong>The</strong> problem doesn’t only lie<br />
in our gaping, polluted, ab<strong>and</strong>oned opencasts, it is far<br />
bigger than that. <strong>The</strong> issue <strong>of</strong> Wales’ polluted past that<br />
continues to plague us is evident also in the hundreds <strong>of</strong><br />
high risk coal tips that sit above our villages <strong>and</strong> homes.<br />
It is time to think seriously about the scale <strong>and</strong><br />
urgency <strong>of</strong> this challenge. In tackling climate change,<br />
we need to look forwards – to a green energy revolution<br />
– but there is a need too to look back at our industrial<br />
past, <strong>and</strong> to clean up our communities. Repairing the<br />
environmental damage <strong>and</strong> making them safe for today<br />
<strong>and</strong> for future generations needs to be an urgent focus –<br />
because at the most fundamental level, our communities<br />
deserve to be safe <strong>and</strong> to enjoy a clean, green future that<br />
starts at home.<br />
Lydia Godden is Economic Policy<br />
<strong>and</strong> Research Officer at the IWA