Moral Victory for Merthyr Tydfil

12.00.00am GMT Wed 16th Mar 2005

Opposition Assembly Member's in the Welsh Assembly have won a huge moral victory in the name of the people of Merthyr Tydfil. Members voted to pass an amendment that will eventually introduce an Opencast and Mineral Extraction Bill, limiting the distance between residential settlements and proposed opencast developments.

The amendment was carried by 29 votes to 28. Controversially the Merthyr and Rhymney AM, Huw Lewis, voted against the Amendment, despite claiming that he has been campaigning for a 500 metre buffer-zone for several years.

Speaking after the debate, Michael German AM for South Wales East, said: "This is a real moral victory for the anti-opencast protesters. However, Carwyn Jones AM has had the power to enforce a 500m buffer zone all along, why hasn't he acted? The protesters need to keep up the pressure to ensure that this amendment is translated into action."

Ceirion Rees, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Merthyr, said of the vote: "The Anti-Opencast Action Group should take some heart from this result. They should not give up hope!"