Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £118m in her spending review to "keep coal tips safe in Wales" a sum that many have described as inadequate.
Wales is home to around 2,573 disused coal tips. Of these, 360 are in the most serious categories (D and C). Wales has around 20,000 disused non-coal tips and approximately 1,300 abandoned metal mines, which are polluting over 700 km of rivers with harmful metals like cadmium, lead, zinc, and copper. Despite the scale of the problem, evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee suggests the funding available to make these sites safe barely scratches the surface.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and the Environment, Janet Finch-Saudners MS, said:
“While this Bill does provide a genuine opportunity for Wales to ensure tip safety, it is disappointing that the Labour Welsh Government has taken several years to introduce this legislation and even more concerning that the funding to deal with the issue is not nearly enough.
“We must also be realistic that making some sites safe may involve the removal of coal, and in those cases, owners should be allowed to offset costs by selling it to market, especially when the UK continues to import over 3 million tonnes of coal each year.
“The scale of the challenge goes far beyond the funding currently on the table, the Welsh Government has a responsibility to ensure these sites are made safe and our communities are protected.”
