Preserving Wales’s Natural Landscape

We believe that the beauty of Wales’s natural landscape should be preserved. This means that large scale industrial energy generation developments should take this into account. Large scale pylon developments or solar scale developments should be considered in the context of their impact, and alternative methods for linking renewable energy to the national grid should be implemented, e.g. through the undergrounding of cables.

Plaid Cymru opposes the development of new sites for nuclear power stations, and would oppose new licences for oil and gas drilling.

The legacy of coal mining continues to leave scars on our nation’s landscape. Westminster benefited from the mining industry in the days before devolution, and they should bear the responsibility for making these sites safe. Plaid Cymru will push to ensure that Westminster pays towards clearing the coal tips that litter our valleys, and that site restoration does not have to be financed through the further extraction of coal.

The legacy of mining is also felt in the ongoing injustice faced by former miners whose pensions are benefiting the coffers of the Treasury, whilst some former miners live on only £10 a week. Plaid Cymru demands that the UK Government should relinquish its entitlement to the pension scheme’s investment reserve, and that they should transfer the billions already taken from the miners back to those former workers and their families. The UK Government must commit to implementing the BEIS inquiry’s own recommendations into the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.

We would maintain the ban on fracking, are opposed to proposals for gas-fired peaking plants in Wales, and on new open cast coal mines. Opencast mine sites should be fully restored for the benefit of local communities, and should never be used as a guise for private companies to undertake further coal extraction.

There should be stronger enforcement for the protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Wales, so that the days of companies dumping waste on protected sites are a thing of the past.