Two Plaid Cymru Members of the Senedd have called on the company behind plans to extract coal at a former colliery site to reveal further information about their plans.

Peredur Owen Griffiths MS and Delyth Jewell MS – who both represent the South Wales East region - said plans to remove coal from the tips at the abandoned Bedwas colliery site have caused worry and anxiety for communities on either side of the mountain.

ERI – the company behind the proposals to remove around 500,000 tonnes worth of coal and spoil from the tips over five to ten years.

Peredur said many questions around the project remain, including how much money is set to be released for the community to compensate for any disruption and pollution.

“ERI are expected to submit a planning application later this year to extract the coal at the former Bedwas colliery site,” said Peredur.

“The application will then be subject to the scrutiny of the local authority. Plaid Cymru councillors will be ensuring that there is full scrutiny of the plans when that happens.

“In the meantime, there has been little said about how much the communities around the site will benefit. In the past, coal has been extracted from our hillsides along with the vast profits that were made.

“Our communities paid a heavy price during the coal mining years but were left with little benefit. We cannot allow that to happen again.

“I am calling on ERI to release more detail about how much they intend to donate into communities and how they plan to direct that money.

“From the millions of pounds of profit set to be made from this project, there needs to be a substantial financial offer for the people that live around former Bedwas colliery. If the project is approved, these financial benefits must deliver a lasting, positive legacy for the communities.”  

Fellow Plaid Cymru South Wales East MS and spokesperson for the environment Delyth Jewell MS said: “I urge the company to come clean with the community about their plans for the Bedwas site, so the communities that surround the site are reassured and all local councillors can have their say on any developments.

“Coal tips, of course, are a legacy of our nation’s industrial history—which predates devolution. 

“We cannot rely on private firms solely to clear up the mess, we must have public money from the UK Government to make the tips safe and make sure they are not a risk to the public.

“With the likelihood that the costs will increase with the impact of climate change, and the potential to further destabilise these tips, it’s clear that this far more that a safety issue: it is a matter of historical, social and climate justice.”

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