Skewen flood: Residents 'battle' with authorities

Some Skewen residents have yet to return to their homes a year after flooding

Residents of a flood hit village say they are locked in "constant battle" with the authorities one year after a mine shaft sent filthy water crashing into their homes.

On 21 January 2021, 80 homes in Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, were evacuated after a "blow out".

Some families have still not returned because of the devastation caused by water and sludge.

Others have seen their homes flooded again as recently as this month.

The Coal Authority, responsible for maintaining the shaft, said after the flooding that the "blow out" was caused by an underground blockage. That led to the water breaking out by the easiest path.

It refuses to accept liability for the wreckage and loss of families' belongings.

It says the flood was caused by heavy rain.

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Residents argue the authority should have been aware of a blockage in the mine.

One of those who had to be rescued, Izzy Jones, said the situation seemed "hopeless".

Izzy Jones, left, said she and mum Emma were constantly on edge

One of the worst affected streets was Dynevor Road, where optician Phillip Thomas, 67, is one resident unable to return home.

He says Brexit, Covid and a lack of resources have all been blamed by officials for the delay, and it "seems hard to believe" the Coal Authority was not responsible for the damage caused by the floodwater.

"It came from their mine," he said.

"We were promised a visit by the energy minister last year. That's when it was Anne Trevelyan. She has moved on and now Greg Hands is in place.

"And of course we've not seen a sight of him either."

Phillip Thomas found it hard to believe the Coal Authority was not responsible for flood damage

Mr Hands is responsible for the Coal Authority.

A spokeswoman would not say whether Mr Hands would visit Skewen, but said it had provided £5.5m to the Coal Authority to pay for clean-up operation.

This, she said, was to repair drainage systems and offer residents up to £2,000 for "reinstatement" of damaged gardens.

Mr Thomas dubbed the fund "a pittance" that residents had had to fight for.

Some of his neighbours' bills to repair their gardens, he said, had run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Work is ongoing to install a new multi-million pound water management system at the junction of the village's Goshen Park and Drummau Road.

People living nearby say the area is still plagued with problems.

In October residents said they had to break into the Coal Authority's site to stem water that was escaping.

More water gushed from the compound three weeks ago, flooding a house in Goshen Park in the early hours of the morning.

The Coal Authority said it was "very sorry" for this, claiming the new mine water management system had removed the risk of this happening.

But residents near the site of the blow out remain frustrated.

'We've had enough'

"There's no change whatsoever," said Wayne Birch.

"We've just been told now that our insurance is going to be going up, around about double, maybe treble.

"We've been put on a high risk flood plain, and we were told that that was never going to happen because it's a one-off incident.

"And it's just gradually getting worse and worse and worse."

Mr Birch said the Coal Authority were doing nothing to help.

"They just turn their back on us," he said.

"And we as residents of Skewen and residents of Goshen, we've just had enough."

Residents claim their concerns are not dealt with because of the number of authorities involved in reinstating the area.

Wayne Birch said the authorities involved all blamed each other

"The council will blame the Coal Authority, the Coal Authority will blame the council," Mr Birch said.

"The Coal Authority will then blame Natural Resources Wales, and then they'll blame the Woodland Trust. We just want the problems fixed."

The Coal Authority's Carl Banton said the extent of the blow out meant more extensive ground investigations were necessary.

He said: "The design of the permanent mine water treatment scheme has required some specific civil engineering and ground stabilisation works which, fortunately, we've done the majority of now.

"There's been some some extreme weather events over this past year, some big storm events that have impacted Skewen, and that very much maybe a sign of climate change going forward."

He said the water management system had been designed with extreme weather events in mind.

Residents believe minor flooding and drain blockage has increased since the blowout.

The Coal Authority said surface water flooding was Neath Port Talbot Council's domain.

'We want them all in a room together'

Residents, including Emma Jones, want a multi-agency meeting with residents.

"They are just batting the blame back and forth," said Mrs Jones.

"We want them all in a room together where they need to account for themselves. Because nobody is taking accountability for this.

"We just want everything to go back to the way it was before this all happened."

Mrs Jones's daughter, Izzy, suffered post-traumatic stress after being rescued from her home last year.

"It just seems hopeless," Izzy Jones said.

"We're just battling a fight that we won't win."

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