Public body to protect people from dangers of old coal tips

A NEW law which will set up a public body to ensure Wales' coal tips do not threaten the safety of people living near them has received unanimous backing in the Senedd.

- RUTH MOSALSKI

The Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill will update outdated legislation from the late 1960s.

Concerns about the condition of Wales’ coal tips came to light following a landslide at a disused coal tip in Tylorstown in Rhondda Cynon Taf in February 2020.

It emerged there was no standard categorisation or list of who was responsible for the 2,573 coal tips in Wales.

The Welsh Government ordered a review of the safety of coal tips across Wales, and inspections and maintenance of tips with the potential to impact public safety.

It found 360 are in the most serious categories (D and C). In January, some were reclassified.

There was then another incident in November 2024 when heavy rainfall during Storm Bert contributed to a tip slip in Cwmtillery in Blaenau Gwent, which meant 40 houses had to be evacuated due to deep slurry and debris running down the hillside.

The Welsh Government's subsequent law about coal tips has now cleared its first hurdle in the Senedd. The main aim of it is to set up the Disused Tips Authority for Wales, a public body which will be tasked to “ensure that disused tips do not threaten human welfare by reason of their instability”.

That will be operational from April 1, 2027, and will be responsible for compiling and maintaining a register of disused tips, and have a duty to monitor tips. However, there is no detail about the frequency or nature of this monitoring.