Westminster: our evidence on Wales’ coal legacy

Coal Action Network was invited to attend Westminster where we gave evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee in their inquiry about the environmental and economic legacy of Wales’ industrial past, alongside Friends of the Earth Cymru.

This inquiry was opened in December 2024 to examine the environmental legacy and economic impact of Wales’ historical heavy industries. You can find our written evidence here.

Summary of our submission

In our submission, we focused on the consequences today of old coal mines. Whilst we recognise the wealth it generated, much of that was kept by the Directors of mining companies whilst abandoning their restoration responsibilities to host communities. Our 2022 report ‘Coal mine restoration in South Wales’ documents this pattern in Wales’ recent past. We also highlighted the threat of new coal mining under the guise of remediation, as proposed in Bedwas, South Wales.

Our oral evidence

We explained that the cycle of mining companies letting down their host communities is not just a legacy issue, but is also a live issue. We commented on how perverse it would be to rely on profit-driven mining companies to fix the problems caused by those same profit-driven mining companies.

We highlighted that not all coal tips should be flattened – with unique and rare ecologies growing up around some of the older coal tips. Many coal tips are also stable and safe now.

We called for the UK Government’s coal ban to include ‘remining’ coal tips – as this shares many of the same characteristics as conventional coal mining.

We also recommended that the UK Government deliver more dedicated funding on an ongoing basis to the Welsh Government to monitor and remediate historic coal mining sites and tips.