Sunday 6 January 2008

THE LOST YEARS

The revised Environmental Statement submitted by Celtic Energy concerning their Margam/Parc Slip Extension planning application would have us believe that extracting coal by opencast methods is no danger to health and well being, is sustainable and causes no lasting damage to the environment.If permission is granted, their prize would be our beautiful valley, Cwm Cynffig. The impossibility of reconstructing this beautiful landscape and its wildlife is one of the reasons why people are opposing opencast mining in our area. The company also have documented that anyone who opposes their developments are prejudiced. Our objections are born out of experience and knowledge and therefore cannot be ‘prejudice‘.Maybe the company should look up the word ’prejudice’. In the Oxford Dictionary the meaning is:-’ An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts.--An unfavourable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.’How can we then be prejudiced? We have the ‘knowledge’ and are more than familiar with the ‘facts’ having lived with this obscenity for decades. We have had plenty of time to form ‘opinions‘, to ‘think’ and to finally ‘reason’ that we want no more opencast in our area. That is not prejudice!!In the Environmental Statement, Celtic Energy show colourful Disneyland computer generated images of wonderful landscape features, such as broad leaf woodlands and hedgerows. These will take so long to mature that, although our children’s, children’s, children may be lucky enough to see them, we certainly will not!If Celtic Energy are truly interested in what the people want, they should show us their wonderful ability to restore now. They can attempt to beautify the present moonscape site that has been destroyed, (with no restoration for 13 years,) and do there all that they propose to do in the new application !!.Opencast has been in our area since the 1940’s.Since the ‘90’s the people of Cefn Cribbwr and Aberbaiden, perched above the site, and living with the impacts of noise, dust, diesel fumes and depressing visual aspect every day, have had their quality of life ruined . The added impact of severed roads and countryside access has added to the misery. That can never be restored .No amount of restoration can ever replace the lost years for the people of our communities!
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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.

About Me

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)