1.  The Welsh Government must ensure that policies regarding opencast coal mining and other mining activities are robust, up-to-date, and provide appropriate protections for local authorities and communities.
2. The Welsh Government must clarify its policies relating to coal tip remediation with the aim of ensuring that the negative impacts of opencast mining are not repeated.
3. Planning Policy Wales says that coal extraction can be permitted “in wholly exceptional circumstances”, where the proposals “demonstrate why they are needed in the context of climate change emissions reductions targets and for reasons of national energy security”. The Welsh Government should clarify the criteria that must be used when assessing proposals in this regard.
4. The Welsh Government should make the Coal Authority’s best practice guidance recommendations into statutory requirements.
5. The Welsh Government must consider how the best practice guidance can be applied more broadly, particularly for coal-tip reclamation.
6. The Welsh Government must engage with the UK Government and Local Government to determine how to address the funding shortfall for site restoration.
7. The Welsh Government should commission an independent review to assess the extent of the funding needed to restore opencast sites to an acceptable level. The independent review should consider what constitutes an “acceptable level” in consultation with local authorities and communities.
8. The Welsh Government must clarify the roles of local authorities, the Coal Authority, and Natural Resources Wales in the restoration of opencast sites, with particular emphasis on their responsibilities in the decision-making process, and make this information publicly available.
9. The Welsh Government should require local authorities to ensure all Planning Officers’ reports are available online alongside associated planning documents, including revised restoration plans, where relevant.
10. The Welsh Government must engage with local authorities to assess and meet the future staffing needs of local authorities for specialist roles such as mineral planners.
11. The Welsh Government should reconsider the proposal from the 2014 report to establish a virtual “Centre of Excellence” for restoration planning, particularly in light of potential coal-tip reclamation proposals, and lead discussions with local government on how to implement this.
12. The Welsh Government must engage with the UK Government with the aim of removing the Coal Authority’s statutory duty to maintain and develop an economically viable coal mining industry.
13. The Welsh Government must consider making a degree of community ownership a requirement for opencast sites and similar developments, including coal tip reclamation sites.
14. The Welsh Government should review and update the Minerals Technical Advice Note 2 (MTAN2) to ensure it is fit for purpose, particularly in the context of new developments and coal tip remediation.
15. The Welsh Government should incorporate provisions for the restoration of former opencast sites within the forthcoming Disused Tips (Mines and Quarries) Bill.
16. The Welsh Government must proactively engage with the UK Government to seek funding for coal tip remediation.
17. The Welsh Government must mandate public consultation for all stages of the restoration process, including when revised restoration plans are brought forward.
18. The Welsh Government should advise local authorities to designate a specific officer as a point of contact for the local community, providing a direct communication channel between residents and local authorities on matters relating to sites or similar developments.
19. The Welsh Government should advise local authorities to create online portals where residents can access up-to-date information on all stages of the restoration process.
20. The Welsh Government should encourage the use of citizens' assemblies as forums for discussing the future of restoration sites, particularly where restoration failed to meet the original planning permission and compromises need to be made.
21. The Welsh Government must explore stronger enforcement mechanisms to address breaches of planning controls without delay, such as the mining activities that continued at Ffos-y-Fran after the licence expired.
22. In the event that the water cannot be drained from the voids at the site, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council must ensure that any water bodies resulting from the restoration at Ffos-y-Fran are safe and provide benefit to the local community.
23. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council must ensure that the revised restoration plan reflects, as a minimum, the objectives of the original restoration plan, including: safe public access across the East Merthyr historic landscape with a new network of trails and footpaths; sustainable wildlife habitats and biodiverse environmental sites; protection and restoration of surviving heritage features; and the return of most of the site for traditional commoners’ use.
24. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council should fully involve local residents in the consideration of revised restoration plans for the Ffos-y-Fran site.
25. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council should publish the application for the revised restoration plan at Ffos-y-Fran and the planning officer’s associated reports.
26. The Welsh Government should consider the broader implications of the failures at Ffos-y-Fran and implement systemic changes to prevent similar issues in future, including in relation to coal-tip reclamation sites.

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