Assembly Members Are Standing Up For Merthyr

12.00.00am GMT Fri 4th Mar 2005

Three AM's, Michael German (Liberal Democrat) Jocelyn Davies (Plaid Cymru) and John Marek (Independent) are determined to defend the people of Merthyr from the adverse affects of opencast mining.

In response to the Welsh Assembly approval of the Ffos-y-Fran opencast planning application in February, Jocelyn Davies and John Marek tabled the following Statement of Opinion:

"The National Assembly believes that there should be, at least, a 500m buffer zone between any open cast mining and residential properties and further believes that full planning permission for open cast mining at Merthyr Tydfil should not be granted unless such a buffer zone is a condition of the consent".

If the statement generates enough support from the other AM's, it will be debated in the Chamber and this could have serious ramifications for the future of opencast mining in Merthyr.

Michael German, AM for South Wales East, was the first to subscribe to the Statement, "I have said all along that the people of Merthyr Tydfil deserve better. They deserve better protection from the adverse effects of coal dust and they deserve better protection from the noise pollution associated with opencast mining. If this Statement of Opinion is successful it will give the people of Merthyr the protection they deserve.

"Those of us who have visited the site and met with the residents who will be most affected by the development want to do all we can to ensure that the disruption caused by the mining will be kept to a minimum.

The planning application may have been granted but that doesn't mean that this is the end of the road for the protesters or indeed, for anyone who cares about the future of the town."