More than £100m will be invested into coal tip safety this Senedd
term. The total, confirmed today by Deputy First Minister
with responsibility for Climate Change, , will allow the Welsh Government to expand the
coal tip safety grant to expediate work on disused tips across
the country.
It is made up of the £65m already committed from 2021 to 2025,
the £25m requested and received from the UK Government for
2025-26 as part of its autumn budget earlier this year, plus an
additional £12m announced in today's draft budget.
The funding confirmation follows yesterday's
announcement of the introduction of a new Bill which, if
passed, would see the creation of an organisation with
responsibility for a new regime to manage Wales's disused tips.
The Disused Mine and
Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill proposes to establish a Disused
Tips Authority for Wales.
The Bill is the first of its type in the UK and is world-leading
in developing a robust system for the safety of disused tips.
The new authority would become a Welsh Government sponsored body
responsible for the assessment, registration, monitoring and
management of disused tips.
Deputy First Minister said: “We are absolutely committed to making
sure that people living in coalfield communities across Wales are
safe in their homes.
“The recent storm Bert is yet another stark warning of the damage
rainfall can cause, and how vulnerable disused tips can be to
extreme weather conditions.
“I know many people living in coalfield communities across Wales
are concerned, and so we must be ready to adapt and respond.
“That's exactly why we are investing £100m in coal tip safety
this Senedd term and introducing this Bill – the first of its
kind in the UK: to prevent disused coal and non-coal tips from
being a threat to human welfare.
“It fulfils our promise to introduce legislation to deal with the
legacy of centuries of mining and ensure coal tip safety.
And it will help to ensure that the tragic mistakes of the past
are not repeated.”
