Who’s enabling massive restoration cuts at Ffos-y-fran?
Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd is the mining company refusing to clean up its own mess after mining millions of tonnes of coal from the sprawling opencast coal mine, Ffos-y-fran, in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. The following consultants are stubbornly risking their reputation by supporting an application by Merthyr (South Wales) to downgrade the promised restoration by around £90 million, leaving behind 100m exposed and sheer cliff drops, three new colossal coal tips, and a huge void with up to 1 MILLION cubic metres of polluted mine water.
Email each consultancy company and politely ask them why they’re risking their reputation by working with a mining company intent on selling out nature amidst a biodiversity crisis in Wales. We know of other consultants who have refused to work with this mining company, seeing the how their input would be used to leave behind a dangerous site that poses a real risk to life and limb on the doorsteps of 58,000 residents in Merthyr Tydfil. Not to mention that the Director of this mining company has a long record of criminal fraud, physical violence, and belligerence.
Richards, Moorehead & Laing Ltd
RML Ltd are the architects of the new ‘restoration’ application to short-change Merthyr Tydfil by around £90 million. RML Ltd’s new scheme seeks to replace the existing restoration agreement. Unlike the existing agreement, the new scheme by RML Ltd is a plan to do as little as possible. It is riddled with gaps and leaps of logic in a painful effort to convince the Merthyr Tydfil planning authority that this new plan that happens to cost 90% less than the current scheme is a better solution for the sprawling wasteland created by the Ffos-y-fran opencast coal mine. You might want to encourage Jon Stoddard of RML Ltd to rescue its reputation and cut ties with this project to short change nature:
Contact: Jon Stoddard j.stoddard@rmlconsult.com CC: rml@rmlconsult.com
Groundwater Science Ltd gives advice on hydrology issues and its assessments to Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd try are being used by the company to convince the Local Planning Authority that it is acceptable not to return three colossal coal tips to refill the huge mining void. Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd flooded the mining void with up to a million cubic metres of polluted mine water. Groundwater Science Ltd’s involvement legitimises a situation that creates an unnecessary risk and breaches the agreed restoration scheme.
Encourage Stuart Daley, Julia Soares, Josh Roberts, Mal Graham of Groundwater Science Ltd to see the wider context, and drop Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd as a client, so it doesn’t drown in the bad press this underhand project continues to get.
Contact: Stuart Daley, Julia Soares, Josh Roberts, Mal Graham at a.black@gwscience.co.uk
Archaeology Wales claims to be the largest, independent private archaeologist company based in Wales. It seems being from Wales doesn’t stop Archaeology Wales from selling out Welsh nature and residents, as it refused to cut ties with Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd. It provides advice to the mining company critical to the application to downgrade the restoration of Ffos-y-fran.
Encourage Charley James-Martin and Rowena Hart to cut ties immediately with Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd to protect Welsh nature and natural heritage for our future generations.
Contact: Charley James-Martin and Rowena Hart at info@arch-wales.co.uk CC accounts@arch-wales.co.uk
Smith Grant LLP is an independent environmental consultancy working with Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd to convince Merthyr Tydfil Council of the pollution benefits of the new plan…despite media reports that the mining company was burying toxic waste at the site. The new plan also involved leaving a massive exposed coal-face and three colossal coal tips behind, which are already leaking elevated levels of metals into the surrounding environment.
Encourage Dr Tony Smith, Katrina Hawkins, and Dan Wayland of Smith Grant LLP to rescue their reputation by cutting their spin for this damaging attempt to downgrade the restoration of Ffos-y-fran:
Contact: Dr Tony Smith, Katrina Hawkins, and Dan Wayland at consult@smithgrant.co.uk
Mine Environment Management Ltd
Mine Environment Management Ltd is a geological engineering firm serving the mining industry. It’s homepage makes it sound like this company is grounded in science to solve mining’s environmental impacts… but instead it’s working with Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, a company bent on abandoning its environmental impacts despite windfall profits.
Encourage Marguerite Pearce to drop Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd as a client and restore its own reputation… we know other companies in the same industry have refused to work with Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, putting integrity before profit.
Contact: Marguerite Pearce at info@memconsultants.co.uk
All information is provided based on the information we have access to. We have contacted, and encouraged, companies to reach out and provide evidence to correct any inaccuracies.