Ella Groves – ICNN Senedd Reporter
Senedd Members called for action on coal tip safety ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster.
On October 21, 1966, a coal tip collapsed on a mountain slope above Aberfan, sending slurry towards the village below.
In its path was Pantglas Junior School, where 109 children and five teachers were killed. In total, 144 people were killed in the disaster.
Describing it as “one of the darkest days” in Wales’ history, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said the story of Aberfan will “never be forgotten”.
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday October 20, he said: “It is a story of the most terrible loss and grief, but also a story of the resilience of a community over six decades.”
But the First Minister also recognised the “injustice” of Aberfan, telling members of the “negligence” of the National Coal Board in allowing spoil tips to build up above homes and schools.
He acknowledged there is still more to be done, highlighting the creation of the disused tips authority for Wales during the previous Senedd term.
The authority will come into force in 2027 and will work to reduce the threat from tips in former mining communities.
“Public safety”
Reform’s Welsh leader Helen Jenner told members it is their responsibility to ensure “the lessons of the past translate into action for the future”.
She acknowledged the UK Government’s multi-year commitment of £118 million to the Welsh Government for disused coal tip safety but said things “must go further”.
Ms Jenner urged members to take a “cross-party approach” and to work “hand-in-hand” with the UK Government to secure more support.
The opposition leader recognised the importance of the creation of the disused tip authority, stressing the risks from coal tips “have not disappeared”.
She said: “One in ten households in Wales is within 1km of a coal tip rated as posing a potential risk to public safety, while households close to the highest-risk coal tips have reportedly faced home insurance costs up to 40% higher. This cannot be right and must be addressed.”
Responding, the First Minister said: “We must all come together to seek justice for the communities and to honour those who died and who lived with the consequences of that horror for so many years, and continue to do so.”
He continued: “We must, through the work of the disused tips authority, double down on the need to put right the injustices faced by post-industrial communities dealing with the legacy of industry.”
“Never be forgotten”
Labour MS Vikki Howells told the story of Nansi Williams, a dinner lady at Pantglas Junior School, who used her body to shield five children when the slurry hit the school in 1966.
All five children survived but Nansi unfortunately lost her life, Ms Howells told the Siambr.
She called for the story of the disaster to be embedded into the school curriculum to ensure “the victims of Aberfan and their families will never be forgotten”.
Similar calls were made by Welsh Conservatives leader Darren Millar, who shared the story of Gareth Jones, who survived the disaster as a child.
He was pulled out of a window by the school caretaker, Stephen Andrew, who told him to run – saving Gareth’s life.
Mr Millar said: “Gareth did run that day, but he has never run away from Aberfan in the memory that he has of what happened to him and to his schoolmates and to his community on that day.
“Instead, he has spent much of his life since ensuring that future generations never forget. A plea has been made that we must ensure that people’s stories are remembered and communicated to children in our day through the national curriculum.”
Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates echoed these comments, pressing the First Minister on what else can be done to remember those lost in Aberfan both through the curriculum and wider civic society.
Mr ap Iorwerth responded: “I am somebody who has always felt that we need to ensure that our children know our story, know our history, and our history has many facets to it.
“We have a proud industrial history, we have a legacy of real pain from that industrial history too, and I know, and I speak for my education minister in saying, that we always look for new ways of ensuring that, through our education system, we can make sure that our young people are equipped from knowing their past to prepare for their futures.”
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