Explainer

Locations of high risk coal tips revealed as Welsh Government maps are published

The locations of Wales' disused coal tips that pose the most risk to people and communities have been revealed.

The Welsh Government has also published interactive maps showing the locations of the 350 tips, that it says, are inspected more frequently.

It follows the Tylorstown tip collapse during Storm Dennis in 2020. In its wake, a Coal Tip Safety Taskforce was set up.

Now, three years on, the Welsh Government is writing to people that live near the high risk category C and D tips.

Work has been carried out on the tip in Tylerstown ever since its collapse, to make it safe.

Welsh ministers describe category C tips as having the potential to "impact public safety" and therefore need to be inspected at least twice a year.

Category D tips also have the "potential to impact public safety" and therefore need to be inspected at least once a year, Welsh Government said.

The First Minister said earlier this year that a Disused Tips Safety Bill will change the law surrounding coal tip safety.

  • Where in Wales are the high risk tips?

The majority are in Rhondda Cynon Taf, followed by Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly.

The Welsh Government has listed the full number by local authority area and maps of where they are have been published on its website.

The full list of where in Wales the high risk coal tips are located. Credit: Welsh Government

The Welsh Government has written to more than 1,500 landowners and nearly 600 occupiers of properties across the country.

It informs them that they are likely to have all, or part of a disused coal tip on their land.

The Welsh Government said its priority is to make sure people living and working near coal tips "feel safe".

In the letter that is being sent, it says: "You don’t need to do anything after receiving this letter.

"The disused coal tips identified in your area have been there for many decades."

It goes onto to say that inspections carried out by the Coal Authority, "will continue to take place on a regular basis, helping to identify any maintenance work needed to keep the coal tips safe."

Rhondda Cynon Taf has the highest number of category C and D tips.

Local authorities now have another £44.4 million for work required on both public and privately owned tips.

Julie James MS, Climate Change Minister, described it as "mammoth undertaking to identify, record and categorise all disused coal tips in Wales into a single central database, which did not exist before."

Ms James continued: “For this data release, we have focused on category C and D tips as they are more likely to need frequent inspections so we can identify and carry out any maintenance when needed.

“It does not mean they are unsafe, but they may be larger and are more likely to be closer to communities or major infrastructure.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The management of coal tips in Wales is one of the Welsh Government’s devolved responsibilities and one it is more than adequately funded to meet after receiving the largest annual settlement in the history of devolution at Spending Review 2021.

“The Welsh Government now receives around £120 per person for every £100 per person of equivalent UK Government spending in England.”

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