Application for new coal mine to open in Wales refused
The proposal was the last outstanding coal mine application in the UK and it has been turned down by planners at Carmarthenshire Council
A plan to extract coal from a site in Carmarthenshire – the last outstanding proposal for opencast coal mining in the UK – has been refused.
Bryn Bach Coal was seeking to remove 85,000 tonnes of anthracite from a planned 10-hectare extension at its Glan Lash opencast site near Llandybie though it stated that slightly under six hectares would actually be excavated.
In September 2023 Carmarthenshire Council's planning committee rejected an application from Bryn Bach Coal to extract 110,000 tonnes – later revised down to 95,000 tonnes – of coal from the proposed Glan Lash extension.
A fresh application had hoped to address the concerns raised.
However the council has now refused planning permission because it would "conflict with Carmarthenshire Local Development Plan policy".
Reasons for the refusal included the impact on woodland and hedgerows within the application area, the "unacceptable disturbance, degradation and loss of peat soils and associated irreplaceable peatland habitat, together with adverse hydrological impacts arising from drainage and excavation works", and the fact that "the development will not adequately protect nor adequately enhance the county’s natural environment".
The company has six months to appeal the decision.
Campaign group Coal Action Network, which calls for an end to coal extraction and coal imports in the UK, said following the decision: "Carmarthenshire Council has rejected Bryn Bach Coal Ltd’s second attempt to expand and extend the currently dormant Glan Lash opencast coal mine, amidst hundreds of handwritten and online objections from residents in the county.
"The decision reflects a clear, strategic commitment to climate leadership, rare habitat protection, and safeguarding the health of surrounding communities."
There are now no live applications for new coal mines and only two active coal mines remain in the UK – one an underground coal mine in Aberpergwm, Glynneath, and a small underground coal mine in Northumberland.