Alt.Cardiff Magazine: The Coal Tip Issue

ALT.CARDIFF If it’s offbeat and in Cardiff, then it’s in here

Issue 1 | December 2021

FEAR OF COLLAPSE Uncover the lingering threat of Wales’ mining past

Credit: Philip Thomas

WOMEN’S SAFETY PRIORITISED

.

ACCESSIBLE CABARET GROUP

.

EXCLUSIVE HEELS DANCING

.

GERMAN SWIMMER SETTLES IN PENARTH

News | Alt.Cardiff Committee and open forum prioritises women’s safety

L

The Women’s Safety Network will discuss how to protect and prevent abuse towards women at night, looking beyond just bars and clubs

ocal businesses have joined together this month to set up a network to tackle women’s safety at night.

FOR Cardiff, the city’s Business Improvement District, launched the Women’s Safety Network on 11 November at the Jury’s Inn. The network consists of an invite-only committee with representatives from sectors from across the city, such as education, transport and Cardiff council.

Carolyn Brownwell, the interim chair of the Women’s Safety Network, said they want to: “Bring together women from all walks of life to make sure our voices are heard.”

They will include experts from the LGBTQ+ community, and black, Asian and minority

ethnic groups to hear different experiences from the city.

An online forum is available to all genders to raise concerns about the issues they are facing, and the network endeavours to create an action plan based on the submissions.

Amy Lamé, the Night Czar for London, was a guest speaker at the launch. She shared that

only 4.3 percent of night crime is alcohol-related in London, according to research from the London at Night report in 2018.

Spiking is a prominent issue in Cardiff, but Amy emphasised that bars, pubs and clubs are not the only places that pose a risk to women’s safety. The new network is expected to take the approach of looking beyond these venues to protect women.

.

The sun is setting before 4:30pm in Cardiff and dark streets make many women feel unsafe Credit: Charlotte West

‘Concert-style’ ticket release for popular dance class

New neurodiverse and disabled cabaret company

A

A

Heels Empowerment offers a four-week beginner course every month. It makes a reserve list in a group chat on Instagram and provides exclusive access to the tickets before anyone else.

On the 30 October the Clumsy Cabaret will be performing at the Queer Emporium, which will be their first in-person show as an ensemble.

dance class that focuses on dancing in high heels has offered an early release of its December beginner’s course tickets for exclusive access.

1

.

local diverse cabaret company championing disabled and neurodiverse talent is taking centre stage for the first time this Halloween, creating an inclusive space within the cabaret community.

Credit: Geo Rose

Credit: Clumsy Cabaret

.

Credit: Charlotte West

Alt.Cardiff | Interview

‘I feel like, for the first time in my life, I belong where I live’ The pandemic has caused many people to feel isolated. For au pair, Lene Hops, it helped her find community through a shared sanctuary: cold water

L

ene Hops moved from Germany to Wales in the middle of the pandemic.

She co-found the Penarthbased sea swimming group, Dawnstalkers, which grew organically during the pandemic, as ordinary people appeared at the seafront for sunrise every day to dunk in the water.

It started when Lene realised she had lived there for six months, but had never taken the plunge.

One gloomy day in February, she dragged along two friends and went in, wearing just a bikini.

“It was choppy – super choppy,

“I’ve found so much more than what I was looking for”

Words: Charlotte West

super windy, super cold. We were in for probably 30 seconds and I thought I was going to lose my toes,” she says, beaming.

“That one day I was literally so high,” the sea swimmer says.

“They call it a cold water high because it literally feels like you are high on something and I was only high on life.” The euphoric sensation is caused by the beta endorphin that is released to block the sensation of pain caused by the water.

with a clear mind. “That’s why all the other people started, they needed to start their day with something that they really wanted to do.”

Why would I ever leave this place?

Lene worked as an interior designer before moving to Penarth. She followed her Welsh boyfriend, longing for a change.

As an au pair, Lene said that waking up and immediately being in work with three young children was a lot to handle.

“I’ve found so much more than what I was actually looking for,” she says, gazing out to sea. “Why would I ever in my life leave this place?” Finding this community during such a dark time seems to be the source of Lene’s infectious bright energy.

She wanted an escape in the morning so she could face work

“I feel like, for the first time in my life, I belong where I live.”

Finding headspace

.

2

Credit: Unsplash

THREAT OF LANDSLIDE

Feature | Alt.Cardiff

3

How living beside a high-risk coal tip is creating fear in the community Over 300 coal tips are considered high-risk in Wales with the possibility of collapse acting as a haunting reminder of the Aberfan disaster 55 years ago.

Words by Charlotte West

S

afety is often a primary concern when choosing somewhere to live. Checking crime rates is a familiar habit for those living in cities to gain peace of mind that their new home will be safe. But for many living in the Welsh valleys, the threat to safety emerges from somewhere quite different: the discarded coal tips from Wales’ mining past.

The risk of collapse is a palpable reality for those living by disused coal tips, the majority of which are based in South Wales. This winter, bad weather from the climate crisis could make them more unstable as water infiltrates the pile. While a landslide is unlikely, the possibility still hangs over those living in their shadow.

Coal tips are huge spoil heaps made up of waste rock and soil that was removed during the height of the coal mining industry in the 20th century. In Wales there are just under 2,500 disused coal tips, but 327 of these have recently been classified as “high-risk”. The Welsh government makes it clear that this classification does not mean there is an immediate threat, just a potential risk to safety from collapse or landslide.

spending review earlier this year, but this was refused due to the belief that the repurposing of coal tips is a devolved issue.

The Coal Authority and local authorities have begun inspecting these category C and D highrisk tips on a more regular basis and, since March, over 70 tips in these categories have had trials with technology devices. These include sensor equipment and earth observation techniques to help detect the prospect of landslides. However, this reactive approach is not reassuring to the surrounding communities.

A tragedy that can’t be repeated

The reality of a fearful life Ann Davies, a resident of Tylorstown where Storm Dennis caused a partial collapse of their coal tip last year, says that living beside them is scary and none of these coal tips are safe. “The fear is never going to go away,” she said. “I wish I had a magic wand to remove all the tips and place them in the back gardens of the descendants of the coal mine owners who gained the profits, whilst the same descendants of the miners have been left to pay the true price of coal.”

The lack of funding adds obstacles to attacking the coal tips problem quickly. The Welsh government requested support from the UK government at the

In a written statement, the Minister for Climate Change, MS Julie James, said they would continue to press the UK government to provide funding, but this political block is another hurdle in progressing with the maintenance of these coal tips.

For many the risk evokes

haunting memories of the Aberfan disaster that took place 55 years ago. A coal tip was located above a primary school in the village and it began to slide after a period of heavy rainfall.

The avalanche killed 144 people, 116 of them being children.

Sue Bevan was 10-years-old when the tragedy took place and was brought over from a neighbouring valley as a first aider, where she offered tea and biscuits to those working through the aftermath. Now, Sue has written a play called HIRAETH about the Aberfan disaster, and recently she conducted a reading underneath a coal tip in Rhondda valley. “I’m sitting there, listening to this story and thinking, ‘This could happen to us now.’” Sue took a breath and then repeated, “This could happen at this moment, while we’re here.”

The creation of this play helped Sue come to terms with her experience at the disaster as she had to do a lot of research to ensure she portrayed it accurately. She said that hearing other people read the words she had written while standing in

Alt.Cardiff | Feature

“The fear is never going to go away”

the valleys made her process her experience at Aberfan differently.

“That was the point at which I had a reaction to it,” she said.

“The following 36 hours after this reading I felt physically sick and shell-shocked. I felt like I’d had something traumatic happen to me the day before, and actually it had, because I think for the first time as an adult, I’d really engaged, heart and mind, with what I saw that day. I’m 65 and I hadn’t in all that time.”

A reactive response to the problem The memory of the disaster clings to the sides of these tips, with the threat of a repeated catastrophe lingering at every moment. These heaps are a liability to the surrounding communities and it’s only set to increase from the poor weather that winter brings. The instability of these tips suddenly feel even more rocky.

Continues ->

4

Feature | Alt.Cardiff A spokesperson for the Welsh government assured that during this Senedd term they were committed to introducing a new primary legislation to deal with the management of coal tips and to “help address any gaps in the current framework.”

“Promises are like hot air balloons, they waft away from the problem”

But for Ann, this is not enough: “Promises are like hot air balloons, they waft away from the problem.”

Residents of the Welsh valleys will continue to be fearful for their safety until some practical, preventable solutions are put in place. While knife crime and assault may be rife in the cities, the remains of Wales’ mining history continues to threaten those that live in the deceptive beauty of the countryside.

.

Want to learn more about the Aberfan disaster?

READ Aberfan: A Story of Survival, Love and Community in One of Britain’s Worst Disasters - by Gaynor Madgwick

LISTEN Remembering Aberfan - a BBC Wales podcast

WATCH The Crown Season three, episode three titled: Aberfan

ffThfift Credit: dPhld ttphTodtmeads:PPWPtnT’StTPfon:hPrydNrtTww:d m: efydhTdPredWkTd :WPdWkppea Th fi cdut: dPhlWdWtpePhpeWdv eTwdhTPtdPred :TwWi:lebdreaedPrefd:aedtTd Pred egPdhTd,TfWrhaydNrtTww:dm: ef

5

dSrh hldCrtp:W

FOLLOW ALT.CARDIFF