Skewen: Coal Authority 'not liable' for mine flood damage

People flooded out of their homes after a mine blow-out say it is "disgusting" the Coal Authority is refusing to accept liability for the damage caused.

Some residents in Skewen could be out of their homes for nine months, while some might not be able to return at all after last month's flooding.

The authority's offer of £500 for materials plus "reasonable" labour costs has been described as "derisory".

The Coal Authority said it was "doing all we are able to" to help.

Despite admitting it is responsible for "remediating mine shafts and making sure mine-water has a permanent solution", the Coal Authority said it did not have liability for flooding.

Residents of the village in Neath Port Talbot said it was not just uninsured people who would suffer, because many private insurance policies did not cover gardens, driveways and house exteriors.

Wayne Birch, 42, whose house in Goshen Park was devastated during the flood, said his neighbours were upset and angry.

"I think I speak for everyone on the street and everyone that was flooded in Skewen that we find it absolutely disgusting," he said.

"I'm lucky, I'm insured, but there are a lot of uninsured people there [whose] lives have been ruined because of this."

Mr Birch said residents had been told the mine had not been checked for the past 10 years, which he described as "absolutely disgusting".

"So we do feel that the Coal Authority has responsibility for this, yes," he added.

Father-of-one Mr Birch, who has been told it might be Christmas before he can go home, said people are worried their houses could flood again because water has been rising due to drains blocked with silt.

He added the authority had "not been very forthcoming" when he had raised concerns.

Lisa Wilcox, whose garden was ruined during the flooding, said residents were considering legal action, but hoped "common sense would prevail". "We're hoping that we're not going to have to go down the legal avenue, nobody wants to pursue legal advice and things but we are looking at it perhaps," she said. "We're not asking for much, we're just asking for what we've lost."

Local councillor Mike Harvey said the Coal Authority's decision not to accept liability is leaving his constituents "angry and frustrated".

"People are not asking to make any money out of this, they just want to be compensated for money they've lost and what it's going to cost them," he said.

"It's totally wrong, and morally wrong not to compensate the people affected."

Local MP Stephen Kinnock is calling on the authority to do "the right thing morally" by ensuring residents are not "left a single penny out of pocket".

Mr Kinnock, Labour MP for Aberavon, said he had written to the UK government and raised the issue in the Commons.

He said the authority was "keeping to this line" that it was not liable for water above ground.

"This is an absurd position because the reason the water erupted from under the ground is because it built up in disused mine shafts that are the responsibility of the Coal Authority," he said.

He described the money being offered to residents as "frankly a derisory offer".

"We need to see the UK government taking a moral position and doing the right thing so we see justice for the residents of Skewen," he told BBC Radio Wales Drive programme.

He said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK government Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, had agreed to visit the community, but must do it "sooner rather than later".

"Ministers are going around the country. This excuse that they can't come due to Covid restrictions simply doesn't stack up," he said.

"She must come to Skewen and see the damage herself... when she does she will realise there is an overwhelming moral case to do the right thing."

A spokeswoman for the department of Business, Energy and Clean Growth said: "We understand this is a deeply difficult time for the people of Skewen, and our sympathies remain with those who have been effected by the flooding in the local area."

The authority previously said work to cap the mine shaft would take three months, but a new water management system being built deep underground to divert the water would take at least six.

The authority's chief executive, Lisa Pinney, said: "Every home flooded, from any cause, is a tragedy. Our sympathy remains with all those affected by this incident.

"Whilst not liable for the flooding we do recognise the impacts of the incident on the community and are doing all we are able to provide practical help and support."

She said the authority had built a new access road which has allowed families to return to their homes and was beginning "permanent remediation works" on the mine shaft.

It is also clearing private drains and will soon start work to "support the reinstatement of gardens".

Ms Pinney added: "We can now begin the permanent remediation works to repair the mineshaft and build a permanent solution for the mine water to provide peace of mind."