Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
The Welsh Government continues its commitment to publishing regular updates to the National Disused Coal Tips Dataset (“the National Dataset”). These updates are published twice a year, following the completion of the scheduled annual and bi‑annual inspection programmes for category C and D disused coal tips, respectively.
This most recent update reflects changes identified during the latest round of inspections carried out on behalf of the Welsh Government by the Mining Remediation Authority.
The National Dataset is used to co-ordinate monitoring and maintenance activities between the Welsh Government, local authorities, Natural Resources Wales, the Mining Remediation Authority, and our other delivery partners.
I can announce that the next update to the National Dataset will be published on 26th March 2026 to reflect changes identified on disused coal tips since the autumn. It is important that regular updates to the status of disused coal tips in Wales, as well as supporting information, is made available to the public. This will provide assurances that our records are accurate and up to date, highlight where there may be changes of note at a tip location, and that the safety driven programme of work is ongoing.
A total of 11 changes have been identified since autumn 2025, with the majority resulting from the ongoing inspections of category A tips which commenced in the spring of 2025. This is the first time that most category A tips will have been inspected by the Mining Remediation Authority on behalf of the Welsh Government.
Changes to the National Dataset also result from information recorded outside of routine inspections, for example, when a local authority reports a change to a tip, or if an observation is made on a nearby tip whilst undertaking an inspection. All suggested changes are verified by the Mining Remediation Authority before being included in the National Dataset to ensure the information is robust, accurate and fit for purpose.
A summary of the changes identified over this latest inspection period can be found in a table at Annex 1 of this statement.
As with previous updates, the data is presented using the online map on the Welsh Government website and via the DataMapWales platform. The Welsh Government has also provided summary information of changes on its website. A map booklet that provides more information on the changes to the update is available to download from this website.