‘Anti Social behaviour causes untold misery, corrodes communal life, undermines public services and forces people to live in fear in their own homes.’---Chris Pond, the Work and Pensions Minister
Celtic Energy have continually dismissed complaints and objections from their neighbours in Kenfig Hill and district. They have broken their promise of no more opencast’ in the locality. There is no adequate law to protect the community from this contemptuous disregard. Unfortunately, current legislation protects and endorses continued coal quarrying operations by its inadequate lack of stringency. Nothing is protecting the residents from suffering from the actual on-going impacts. In real terms. This industry breach moral and anti-social codes of behaviour. They are viewed as unacceptable neighbours by the people who constantly endure the consequences.The physical encroachment of the workings is increasingly intrusive and more than just a nuisance. The locality is becoming over dominated by the industry. The semi-rural and rural identity of the area, its role and status are being diminished.It is widely accepted that opencast coal mining is the most destructive and invasive methods of coal extraction. The coal from open casting should never be linked with any recent ’Clean Coal’ publicity as its extraction is far from a clean coal technology.The opencast in this area is a private operation that provides minimum jobs and is not a community asset. The community experience pollution, such as dust, noise, glaring lights, blasting and vibration, diesel fumes and obscene, depressing visual degradation. The amenity, footpaths, countryside features and habitats are being wrecked, as is the flora and fauna. This is a form of cruelty to wildlife!The many people who are living with this on their doorsteps are witnessing environmental vandalism. They are also being subjected to a form of persecution, stress, harassment and bullying, which will worsen with the advancement of the site. Now they are being threatened and made anxious by the prospect of even more open cast extensions and a further loss of amenity. The people of Kenfig Hill, Cefn Cribbwr, Pen Y Bryn, Pyle and Margam deserve and need protection. The termination of this exploitation is already overdue. It is the community who are paying the price of devalued properties and a decline in their health and quality of life. The token gifts and community handouts by the company are patronising to the many people who are in opposition to their local countryside’s destruction. The residents and environment should be set free from this on-going injustice imposed on them by these unwanted neighbours.The opencast extension must not be allowed under any circumstances. Celtic Energy’s unfulfilled promises of sinking a deep mine and stopping all opencast operations were deceitful. This resulted in the present phase being granted under a climate of false intentions and declarations and this must be remembered when the decision is made.‘A book may be compared to your neighbour: if it is good , it cannot last too long; if bad, you cannot get rid of it too early!’----Rupert Brooke
Sunday 6 January 2008
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OUR STORY
We’ve had opencast mining in our community for almost 60 years. The most recent work started six years ago. In spring 2005, an application to extend the site by 51 hectares to the west was put forward by the mining company, Celtic Energy Ltd. This would have been through parts of ancient woodland and could have had an effect on biodiversity.The existing mine looks absolutely horrific. It’s a huge, black hole which looks like a moonscape. The mine is in the valley so you can see it from all directions - from the motorway to the sand dunes.It is also really close to the community. This means the noise and dust created can have a big impact, which makes our area a unique case.Strong public feeling
When Celtic Energy submitted the application there was a meeting in Bridgend. The public were allowed to attend but not to comment. That’s where I met other residents who were against the plan and together we set up PACT – Protecting and Conserving Together.The strength of public feeling against the mine is incredible. Now hundreds of people are involved, but it’s still down to a few of us to do all the organising. Unhealthy situationPACT approached the Cardiff Institute of Society of Health and Ethics to carry out a health impact assessment of the proposed extension on people living in the area. Their research came to the conclusion that the negative aspects of expansion would outweigh the positive. The report said; “The loss of amenity, visual impact, nuisance dust, noise and pollution are strong arguments against further open casting close to this community.”But health is not an issue that has to be taken into account in planning at the moment. This needs to change because, the way things are, councils can just pick and choose what they want to take out of something like a health impact assessment.
I don’t think there is a balance between industry and the needs of the people. Legislation on dust and noise is all geared up to help the industry. This means it doesn’t matter how much residents complain, because whenever noise or dust levels are measured they seem to be deemed OK. That’s why we’re calling for tighter legislation.Last month Celtic Energy withdrew their expansion plans. But we weren’t celebrating because that’s not the end of it. They have also put in an application for a time extension of another year for the existing site. No time extension has ever been refused.
When Celtic Energy submitted the application there was a meeting in Bridgend. The public were allowed to attend but not to comment. That’s where I met other residents who were against the plan and together we set up PACT – Protecting and Conserving Together.The strength of public feeling against the mine is incredible. Now hundreds of people are involved, but it’s still down to a few of us to do all the organising. Unhealthy situationPACT approached the Cardiff Institute of Society of Health and Ethics to carry out a health impact assessment of the proposed extension on people living in the area. Their research came to the conclusion that the negative aspects of expansion would outweigh the positive. The report said; “The loss of amenity, visual impact, nuisance dust, noise and pollution are strong arguments against further open casting close to this community.”But health is not an issue that has to be taken into account in planning at the moment. This needs to change because, the way things are, councils can just pick and choose what they want to take out of something like a health impact assessment.
I don’t think there is a balance between industry and the needs of the people. Legislation on dust and noise is all geared up to help the industry. This means it doesn’t matter how much residents complain, because whenever noise or dust levels are measured they seem to be deemed OK. That’s why we’re calling for tighter legislation.Last month Celtic Energy withdrew their expansion plans. But we weren’t celebrating because that’s not the end of it. They have also put in an application for a time extension of another year for the existing site. No time extension has ever been refused.
About Me
- KENFIGPACT
- The ‘Protecting and Conserving Together’ group (PACT) exists for the benefit and protection of the environment within the local area and is particularly concerned with preventing the expansion of opencast mining. PACT draws its membership mainly from the local communities representing truly local knowledge and concerns that are fundamental to the planning process. The group has many members and many more supporters representing a broad cross-section of society both locally and elsewhere. Its membership and supporters include MPs, AMs, clergy, environmentalists, professionals, economists, wildlife experts and scientists. The opencast impacts upon these three County Boroughs: Cefn Cribwr and Aberbaiden (Ogmore Constituency) Kenfig Hill and Pyle (Bridgend Constituency) Pen-Y-Bryn, Bryndu and Margam ( Margam, Neath/Port Talbot Constituency)
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