The council has told the operators of Ffos-y-Fran opencast coal mine in Merthyr Tydfil to stop mining there. Merthyr Tydfil Council has released a statement saying that on Wednesday, May 24, following independent legal advice, an enforcement notice was issued to Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd and any other persons with an interest in the land at Ffos y-Fran, requiring the end of the extraction of coal from the land.
The notice also tells the owners to stop carrying out development at the land under the planning permission granted on May 6, 2011, other than that which completely complies with the approved restoration and management strategy for the site. The notice will take effect on June 27 as a statutory period of at least 28 days is required unless an appeal is made to the planning inspector before this date.
In April, the mine was ordered to close after 15 years when the council’s planning committee voted to refuse an application to extend the time of operations there until March 2024. The company behind the mine said the coal was needed for the steel industry but council planning officials said that Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd failed to clearly demonstrate that the extraction of coal was needed to support industrial non-energy generating uses. They also highlighted the need to decarbonise citing climate change and emission reductions.
