March 6, 2024, marked 40 years since the start of the miners’ strike.

As the Welsh Labour Member of the Senedd for Islwyn I know how powerful the memories will be for families throughout Gwent and Wales.

The actions of the Thatcher government were a betrayal of the coal mining communities of South Wales.

The consequences of that heartless government’s war on industrial Wales have been profound.

The security and relatively well-paid employment taken away so brutally has never truly been replaced.

Perhaps even more destructive was the corrosive impact it had on our wider society.

Although 1984 seems a distant time now, a pre-internet age where we enjoyed just four television channels, the year-long miners’ strike still echoes across our landscape.

Cefn Fforest Miners’ Welfare Hall was paid for out of miners’ wages.

There are now only 48 out of 200 miners institute buildings left in the whole of Wales since the end of the mining industry.

The work of the Cefn Fforest Miners Institute, a charity, determined to restore the building for the community’s benefit is to be applauded. They were recently awarded National Lottery funding of £92,700 to help in their efforts to restore the institute. The charity will use the money towards the first phase of refurbishment which includes opening the old function room for community activities and social events.

There are 2,566 disused coal tips in Wales, approximately 40 per cent of all coal tips in Great Britian. And 656 of those are situated in south east Wales.

Concerns have been raised with me by Islwyn residents about the potential impact of plans to remediate the Bedwas tip. I very much understand the legitimate concerns raised by residents questioning the potential impact on their community of vehicles using the forestry felling track.

I have met with representatives of Energy Reclamation Investment to understand the facts of the proposals to remediate, and make safe, the former colliery spoil above Bedwas and restore the site to moorland and grassland.

Residents have been asked for their views and should respond directly to the developer (ERI Reclamation) - www.erireclamation.co.uk/bedwas/ - for the developer to consider your representations. Following my meeting, I have further asked to meet with representatives of ERI again – to put to them local resident’s specific questions.

The communities of Islwyn clearly remember our coal mining heritage 40 years on – and we shall never forget.