Residents suspicious of country park plan

SIRHOWY Valley Country Park must be protected. Residents in Cwmfelinfach and Ynysddu in the Sirhowy valley in my constituency have made it very clear to me, in large numbers, their great concern about plans to rewild the former coal tips at Mynydd y Grug in Bedwas.

The tragedy of Aberfan is deeply rooted in our Welsh consciousness and soul. That is why the Welsh Labour Government has committed £44.4m capital investment and also provided £3m of funding to the Coal Authority to undertake key activities to support the Welsh Government programme. The real and glaring omission here in this arena is that the UK Tory Government will not, to date, contribute financially to the funding of long-term remediation of disused coal tips.

Thus, a situation develops where people become suspicious that a company such as ERI Reclamation, the only company in the UK undertaking this unique form of coal tip reclamation, and which is entirely privately financed, is motivated by profit rather than public good.

This cynicism is understandable as the coal mining history of Wales is one of a people and a landscape plundered for profit by outside capitalist forces.

I met with ERI Reclamation on February 27 to hear what they had to say and to express my constituents’ concerns. There is yet to be a submission of any formal planning application by the company, so when and if one is submitted, I will study it closely and listen to the concerns of my constituents to submit my own representations to the local planning authority. Whilst we want to see coal tips removed and remediated, it cannot and should not be at any cost.

I will be asking ERI Reclamation to reconsider their preferred route in removing 500 tonnes of coal to sell for their profit. I will ask Natural Resources Wales to protect and maintain the Sirhowy Valley country park for the benefits of citizens who seek to enjoy the natural landscape,