WALES’ finance minister Rebecca Evans has said the UK Government have a “legal and moral responsibility” to work with the Welsh Government to make coal tips safe.

Ahead of the UK Government's spending review, Ms Evans has called on chancellor Rishi Sunak to make additional funding available for the “repurposing, reclamation and remediation of coal tips” in Wales.

The Welsh Government has said the project will cost “at least £500-600 million” over the next 10 to 15 years.

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“Given the risks to lives and livelihoods, that investment will need to be frontloaded as rainfall intensifies and temperatures increase because of our changing climate," Ms Evans told a press conference on Tuesday.

However, the UK Government has said that the Welsh Government is “more than adequately funded” to manage the costs.

Based on information from the Coal Authority, the Welsh Government has estimated that more than 40 per cent of all the UK’s coal tips are located in Wales, and around one in seven of these are classed as “high risk”.

Ms Evans said this equated to “more than 2,100 coal tips in Wales.”

One of these areas, at Tylorstown in Rhondda Cynon Taf, saw a landslip of 60,000 tonnes of collapsed spoil from a former coal tip during Storm Dennis.

South Wales Argus: Tylorstown landslip during Storm Dennis. Picture: Rhondda Cynon Taf councilTylorstown landslip during Storm Dennis. Picture: Rhondda Cynon Taf council

“Wales is disproportionately affected by the legacy of coal mining, and climate impacts are increasing the risks disused coal tips pose to our communities,” Ms Evans said. “As a pre-devolution issue, we need the UK Government to share responsibility and prevent another landslip from happening.

“As rainfall intensifies and temperatures rise, the risk to life and livelihoods is increasing unpredictably.

“The UK Government has a legal and moral responsibility to work with the Welsh Government to address this issue and fund these long-term costs.

“There is an opportunity for us to work together in the coming years to tackle the climate and nature crisis we face, and this year’s spending review is the chance to find that common ground and to leave a positive, fairer and lasting legacy for former mining areas in Wales.”

The spending review is scheduled for October 27, and will set out the funding available to the Welsh Government for the next three years.

In December, the UK Government gave an additional £31 million to Wales – including £9 million to repair coal tips – following Storm Dennis.

When asked what would happen if the UK Government would not offer any further financial support, Ms Evans said: “There would be really difficult choices to be made.”

She added that school and social housing building projects, as well as road repairs, could be affected with funding being redirected to make coal tips safe.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “In December 2020, to help with the unforeseen impact of Storm Dennis, we provided £31 million of additional funding to the Welsh Government, of which £9 million was to repair vulnerable coal tips.

“Ultimately, however, the management of coal tips in Wales is a devolved matter and therefore not one the UK Government would expect to provide additional funding for.

“The Welsh Government is more than adequately funded to manage the costs of devolved responsibilities.

“Their 2021-22 spending review settlement provides around £123 per person for every £100 of equivalent funding in England.

“This is around £1 billion more than the agreed level of fair funding for Wales relative to England as set out in the fiscal framework.”

A Welsh Conservative spokesperson said the Welsh Government had had “ample opportunities” to address the issue already, but they “chose not to act.”

“The management of coal tips in Wales is a devolved responsibility and Labour ministers have had ample opportunities to protect people and communities by making these coal tips safe,” they said. “But as ever with Labour, they chose not to act, as it’s easier for them to blame someone else.”