Mining company: Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd (MSW) is the current operator of the sprawling opencast coal mine, Ffos-y-fran, in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.

Claim: MSW claims "It was established that there are insufficient funds available to achieve the 2015 restoration strategy and therefore an alternative scheme is required." (EIA Scoping Report, July 2024). It is on this basis that a new application will be considered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.

MSW's 'solution': To downgrade the restoration scheme promised to surrounding communities to one that amounts to doing as little as possible. Even returning the tens of millions of cubic metres of coal tips to fill in the gaping void the company created and allowed to flood is considered "not feasible or economic" (EIA Scoping Report, July 2024)

Why MSW is offering to do any works: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council holds £15 million in an Escrow account that it forced MSW to pay into (by court order). This was never intended to fund the original restoration agreement costed at £75-120 million, but that is what's happening now as MSW is claiming the company doesn't have the finances to pay for the restoration it previously agreed to fund. MSW wants this £15 million so is proposing a massively downgraded restoration plan and presenting this as the only option so the Council will pay this out to them. The Council is afraid the company will walk away if it is compelled to honour its contractual agreement to fund the restoration itself. If that happens, the Council would have to pay a new company to come in to restore the site, which'd cost more.

Our recommendation: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council has refused to pursue MSW to deliver on the contractually agreed level of restoration, and is poised to consider a downgraded plan by MSW which would affect surrounding communities living in Merthyr Tydfil for generations. Haven't they put up with enough after 16 years of coal mining, dust, and noise pollution? The Welsh Government urgently needs to launch an inquiry MSW finances and the Council's actions, issuing a 'holding directive' to prevent the Council approving the downgraded plan in the meantime.

To our knowledge, there has been no evidence submitted by MSW that it cannot fund the full restoration it is contracted to undertake. On the contrary, MSW's most recent, publicly available, financial statement on Companies House says "Full account has been taken for funding the restoration obligation in the future costs and cash flows", making £90,948,885 available by 31 Dec 2022, admitting record profits that year, with its ultimate parent company, Gwent Holdings Ltd, reporting "The average coal price achieved increased by 94% to £151.66 per tonne". This was based on Ffos-y-fran closing at the end of its planning permission in September 2022 - but it continued illegally mining coal for over a year after that, and even outside its licenced area, selling an extra 640,000 tonnes of coal - driving profits even further.

It's been claiming tax discounts to HMRC each year by phasing expected restoration costs that it now refuses to pay. This report goes on to say "The total costs of reinstatement of soil excavation and of surface restoration are recognised as a provision at site commissioning when the obligation arises. The amount provided represents the present value of the expected costs.".

This very much sounds like the company able and prepared to pay the restoration costs, and had already claimed tax discounts for it. So why is the company being allowed to duck tens of millions in what it owes?

Individuals involved:

1. David Stanley Lewis
2. Jayne Helen Lewis
3. Andrew John Lewis

David Lewis has already been convicted of criminal fraud, with Judge Durham-Hall telling Lewis: "When the truth was put before you you wriggled, twisted and whinged" and described Lewis as "a pathological gambler who demonstrated pathological dishonesty", concluding "What he did was unlawful, crass, stupid and dishonest." *we believe this article refers to the same David Lewis that is currently Director of MSW but will consider evidence to the contrary.

As is typical of the mining industry, operations and financing is done through a complicated constellation of interconnected companies owned by family members (depictions of which are illustrative only and not based on any likeness). This kind of practice could help evade liabilities - though we're not suggesting that was the intention here. The following information is accurate to the best of our knowledge, please refer to Companies House for confirmation/further details:

Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd
Company number 04261274
Named operator of Ffos-y-fran
David Stanley Lewis - Director and shareholder
Jayn Helen Lewis and Andrew John Lewis - Ex-Directors

MERTHYR (NOMINEE NO.1) LIMITED
Company number 04261269
David Stanley Lewis - Director as of August 2024
Jayn Helen Lewis and Andrew John Lewis - Ex-Directors
Dormant company subsidiary of Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd

Ffos-y-fran (commoners) Limited
Company number 04892620
Jayne Helen Lewis – Director
Andrew John Lewis - Ex-Director
Dormant shell company subsidiary of Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd

Merthyr (Ffos-y-fran) Limited
Company number 06353565
David Stanley Lewis – Director
Jayn Helen Lewis and Andrew John Lewis - Ex-Directors
Dormant shell company subsidiary of Merthyr Holdings Limited

Merthyr Holdings Limited
Company number 06330412
David Stanley Lewis – Director
Jayn Helen Lewis and Andrew John Lewis - Ex-Directors
Subsidiary of Gwent Investments Limited
Holding company of Merthyr (Ffos-y-fran) Limited (dormant) and Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd

Gwent Investments Limited
Company number 08936878
David Stanley Lewis - Director
Jayn Helen Lewis and Andrew John Lewis - Ex-Directors
Investment company of which Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd and Merthyr (Ffos-y-fran) Limited (dormant) is a subsidiary

Gwent Holdings Limited
Company number 10119615
Ultimate parent company of Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd
Jayn Helen Lewis and Andrew John Lewis – Directors