Oversight of what was the UK’s largest opencast coalmine has been described as a case of “epic mismanagement” with “heart-rending” impacts for people affected.
A Senedd committee warned of a “permanent scar” above Merthyr Tydfil if the vast Ffos-y-Fran site was not fully restored.
Its report includes stinging criticism of the mine’s operator and said the Welsh government and other authorities failed to act on previous warnings over the site’s future.
The Welsh government said it would consider the committee’s recommendations.
Mining firm Merthyr (South Wales) Limited said it had recently held a “constructive” meeting with all relevant public authorities, with another planned for late September.
It said it continued to make progress on developing a revised restoration proposal for the site.
The Ffos-y-Fran saga was the latest in a long list of “broken promises” on restoration of opencast mines in Wales, according to the Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee.
“Hearing from residents about the impact these sites have had… has been the most heart-rending aspect of our inquiry,” it said in a report.
“People’s lives, health, well-being, and homes have been severely affected over many years, if not decades.”
Ffos-y-Fran, which closed in November 2023, was a “symbol of the system’s failures”, it added.
The mine’s operator had sparked anger – and legal action from campaigners – after continuing to dig and sell coal for well over a year beyond the deadline on its planning permission.
It is now working on a different – and far cheaper – restoration plan for the site after warning of “insufficient funds” available to deliver on the original agreement.
Alyson and Chris Austin
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