Action group is formed to fight opencast plans
AN action group has been launched in the Gwendraeth Valley to fight plans for a controversial opencast mine.
The group is run by volunteers, many of whom live in Pontyberem’s Railway Terrace and Capel Ifan Road.
It follows talks between residents, Llanelli MP Nia Griffith and AM Helen Mary Jones — who are also against the mine scheme.
Proposals for such mining in Pentremawr, which is between Pontyberem and Ponthenri, were submitted to Carmarthenshire Council by developer Draeth back in 2008.
Villagers are now being given the opportunity to air their views to county council and company officials during another public meeting.
The event has been organised by Ms Griffith and Ms Mary Jones, and will be held in Ponthenri Community Hall, on Thursday, September 24.
From: This is South Wales
Draeth Developments is a company with no history or with any previous opencast mining or any mining development what so ever, its name I believe is formed from the later part of Gwendraeth, the Valley where the proposed opencast site is.
Draeth Developments stopped the construction of the oil pipeline over the land too which it owns the mining rights and asked for compensation for not being able to opencast the site because of the pipeline, I believe they were given compensation by the courts, but not to the extent they had asked or hoped. In the South Wales Evening post article, it is stated that Draeth Developments does not own the Pentremawr colliery site, that is council owned, It therefore does not have any access to the Public road. For planning consent to be granted, the applicant does not have to own the site, so in theory, Draeth could be granted planning permission for an opencast mine to remove coal, but in reality, at this moment in time they could not actually mine it, as they do not own the ‘Pentremawr’ land to the east of the proposed development, but their holding of the mining rights would be financially greatly enhanced, and in the future, the opencast development would be hanging over the heads of the Gwendraeth valley residence, should Carmarthen county council decide to sell this ‘key’ land.
Syd Bryan,
‘No Opencast Pentremawr, Wales’
Ty’r-berllan,
Bancffosfelen,
Pontyberem
Well Syd the above is in the main correct. However, A company with a simular name has attempted to get planning permission for this site before, back in 1995.
If planning permission was granted it would not be Draeths. Planning permission is passed on the land and not bestowed upon the land owner, or applicant. In short If Carmarthenshire County Council wanted to sell the land to another developer to opencast it then they could and there is nothing Draeth could do to stop them!