MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet
Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The Welsh
Government continues its commitment to publishing regular updates
to the National Disused Coal Tips Dataset (“the National
Dataset”). These updates are published twice a year,
following the completion of the scheduled annual and bi‑annual
inspection programmes for category C and D disused coal tips,
respectively.
This most recent update reflects changes identified during the
latest round of inspections carried out on behalf of the Welsh
Government by the Mining Remediation Authority.
The National Dataset is used to co-ordinate monitoring and
maintenance activities between the Welsh Government, local
authorities, Natural Resources Wales, the Mining Remediation
Authority, and our other delivery partners.
I can announce that the next update to the National Dataset will
be published on 26th March 2026 to reflect changes identified on
disused coal tips since the autumn. It is important that regular
updates to the status of disused coal tips in Wales, as well as
supporting information, is made available to the public. This
will provide assurances that our records are accurate and up to
date, highlight where there may be changes of note at a tip
location, and that the safety driven programme of work is
ongoing.
A total of 11 changes have been identified since autumn
2025, with the majority resulting from the ongoing
inspections of category A tips which commenced in the spring of
2025. This is the first time that most category A tips will have
been inspected by the Mining Remediation Authority on behalf of
the Welsh Government.
Changes to the National Dataset also result from information
recorded outside of routine inspections, for example, when a
local authority reports a change to a tip, or if an observation
is made on a nearby tip whilst undertaking an inspection. All
suggested changes are verified by the Mining Remediation
Authority before being included in the National Dataset to ensure
the information is robust, accurate and fit for purpose.
A summary of the changes identified over this latest inspection
period can be found in a table at Annex 1 of this statement.
As with previous updates, the data is presented using the online
map on the Welsh Government
website and via the DataMapWales platform. The Welsh
Government has also provided summary information of changes on
its website. A map booklet that provides more information on the
changes to the update is available to download from this website.
