Ffos-y-Fran: First minister supports closure of coalmine

Coal extraction at Merthyr Tydfil's Ffos-y-Fran mine began in 2007 on a 15-year licence

The Welsh first minister has welcomed the decision to close the UK's biggest opencast coalmine.

Mark Drakeford said ending production at Ffos-y-Fran, near Merthyr Tydfil, was in line with government policy.

"We should not be extracting finite resources from the globe in an era of climate change," he told BBC Wales.

Merthyr Tydfil council said a decision notice will be issued on Thursday, following planning committee's refusal of the proposal.

The operators of the mine wanted to keep up production until the end of March 2024 and push back the date for final restoration of the site to June 2026.

But Merthyr Tydfil council rejected the proposal on Wednesday 26 April, after planning officials advised it did not fit with Welsh government policies on climate change.

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Mr Drakeford said ministers would work to ensure the land was restored so it could be "again used by that local community".

"There will be a job of restoring the site and the companies that created the difficulty and extracted the wealth from that community have an obligation to play their part in doing so," he said, welcoming the local council's decision.

The first minister said the "sad history of Wales" is one of companies "that have extracted wealth from communities walking away when it comes to restoring sites that they have taken things out of in the past".

"Now, we face that anew in the Ffos-y-Fran context," he said.

The proposed extension would have allowed for a further 240,000 tonnes of coal to be extracted

The Ffos-y-Fran land reclamation scheme won planning permission in 2005, with work beginning to excavate 11 million tonnes of coal two years later.

The other aim was to restore the land back to green hillside for the community's benefit as work progressed.

But Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd has admitted that "insufficient funds" had been set aside to complete the restoration of the land as envisaged then, and time was needed to put forward and consult on a revised plan.

Merthyr Tydfil council said: "The council is currently reviewing appropriate enforcement action.

"We remain open to any discussion with the mine operator for a revised restoration strategy of the site, in light of the insufficient funds reported in the planning application."