Coal: UK's last opencast mine shuts after legal row

The UK's last opencast coalmine has closed as fears mount over whether the massive site will be restored.

Documents seen by BBC News show concerns at the Welsh government and UK Coal Authority that Merthyr Tydfil's Ffos-y-Fran mine may be abandoned.

Estimated clean-up costs for the site - the size of 400 football pitches - have grown to between £120m and £175m.

Site operator Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd said it was in "constructive dialogue" with Merthyr Tydfil council.

Union Unite, which represents 115 workers being made redundant as coal mining stops, said it understood the company was "committed" to restoring the site in future and would not walk away.

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Welsh mountain pony breeder Roy Thomas, 80, who lives metres from the mine's boundary, called it "a total blight" on his life for the past 16 years and described the mine as a "neighbour from hell".

The Welsh government allowed the controversial project to happen close to homes and businesses because it is a "land reclamation scheme" that requires the operator to return it to green hillside, with most of that work due to happen after mining had stopped.

Today a giant pit - which is about 656ft (200m) deep - remains.

A large black hole remains at Ffos-y-Fran, visible from parts of Merthyr Tydfil and the A465 Heads of the Valley road

Mr Thomas described the scene as "absolutely disgusting", adding that the mounds of spoil material should go back in the hole as there is "millions of tonnes of material in there".

Ffos-y-Fran has produced nearly 11.25m tonnes of coal since opening in 2008, and is responsible for 86% of the UK's total coal output.

Since September 2022, its owners have been digging without planning permission - an application for more time was refused and the firm appealed an enforcement notice before announcing a closure date of 30 November.

Negotiations between the firm and the council continue over what happens next.

Pony breeder Roy Thomas calls the Ffos-y-Fran mine a "neighbour from hell"

The company has admitted "insufficient funds" had been set aside to carry out the agreed restoration work.

In a letter released under the Freedom of Information Act to campaign group Coal Action Network and shared with BBC News, the UK Coal Authority's chief executive criticised the council's approach.

Writing to the Welsh government on 20 October, Lisa Pinney said there had been "very little visible progress" in preparing for the mine's closure and "no agreed revised restoration plan or emergency response plan in place if the site should be abandoned".

How to manage rising water levels is one issue yet to be resolved, with Ms Pinney writing that, without a clear plan, "there is a clear risk to public safety and to the environment".

Climate activists temporarily halted work at Ffos-y-Fran in 2016

Another document released to the campaigners reveals advice for climate change minister Julie James.

The heavily redacted document, also sent to First Minister Mark Drakeford, said "officials consider the company is likely to seek administration" after coal mining stops.

Alternatively "they may seek to continue to restore the site", as long as they can draw down money from a £15m bank account held by the council, the document adds.

This escrow account was set up as a fall-back fund should the company go bust - the restoration itself is meant to be paid for out of the company's own finances.

Latest publicly available accounts for the firm's parent company suggest £71.4m was budgeted for in December 2021 as restoration provision.

Ffos-y-Fran as it looked at the start of mining in 2008

Daniel Therkelsen of Coal Action Network said settling for a far cheaper restoration would be a "betrayal to the 140,000 people in Merthyr Tydfil".

He said they had already "paid the price for the restoration promised to them with over 16 years of coal dust and noise pollution," and called for a public inquiry into the authorities' handling of the site.

Since it started, the scheme has paid £1 for every tonne of coal produced into a community fund, managed by the council, which offers grants to projects in the area.

Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd said it continued to hold "constructive dialogue with [Merthyr Tydfil council] and other relevant stakeholders on the revised restoration plan".

"There will be no further comment until the plan is finalised and approved by the relevant parties," it added.

It is understood a small team of staff is to be retained on site for "care and maintenance" but Unite's Jason Bartlett said the closure was "heart-breaking" for the workers involved.

A number of jobs could come back once the restoration plan had been negotiated, he said - but how many would "depend on what the plan looks like".

The Coal Authority said managing the mine's restoration and associated public safety was a matter for the landowner and local authority but it would provide advice as needed.

The council disputed criticism from the Coal Authority, saying negotiations to reach a "revised restoration plan" had been ongoing for more than year.

The Welsh government said: "Welsh Ministers cannot comment on individual cases as the Welsh government has a formal role in determining planning enforcement appeals."

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