Coal, Climate Change and Community: The Case of Ffos-y-Fran
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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