RESIDENTS AGAINST FFOS-Y-FRAN Picture & Video Gallery

Saturday, 5th December 2009: .

The RAFF group makes representation at The Wave in London. Alyson, Chris and family braved the elements to take our message out to the masses. A great day with about 40-50,000 people reminding the politicians of their obligations and the urgency whilst representing us at the climate talks in Copenhagen on Monday (7th December). There were many people up from Wales, with buses bringing people in from all over the principality. Take this message over with you Jane Davidson - we don't need more rhetoric, we need commitment and action.

A bottleneck in Grosvenor square

Bright and full of energy at the start of the march

Only 4 Hours and several miles to go...

The end of a long, tiring, but exhilarating day

Tuesday, 10th November 2009: .

Ffos-y-Fran from the air. See how the mine dominates the town of Merthyr Tydfil. Sited high over the town, very few escape its influence. The topography of the area lessens the impact for a lucky few, but it's impact is widespread. The mine will expand around towards Dowlais and back over the top of the mountain.

I can see my house from here...!

Sunday, 7th June 2009: .

Lots of noise! Listen to the noise these massive Komatsu PC3000 diggers generate when working up on the site. Even though there are other vehicles in this recording, virtually all the noise you hear is coming from just the one Komatsu digger, and they have 4 of these. The noise is attenuated over distance, but when you appreciate how close people are living to this mine, from about 30 Meters, and when the wind is blowing off the site, you can imagine that it's still very loud. Try this for 15 Hours a day! They are actually allowed legally to generate up to 55dbA and we've measured them at more than this late at night and first thing in the morning. Just for the moment they are working quietly; but not for altruistic reasons I can assure you. They are just pretending to care whilst the eyes of the world are upon them...

Komatsu PC 3000 wav file

Komatsu PC 3000 aac file

Komatsu PC 3000 mp3 file

Sunday, 7th June 2009: .

Lots of dust being generated by the mining operation, as you can see from this late evening (21:00) backlit photograph. (Note the massive Komatsu PC3000 digger working right to the edge of the site over the top of the Bogey Road. Someone lives immediately below this point! Their house actually vibrates and shakes with the noise output from this machine.). Don't forget that this dust is being generated 15 Hrs a day, day-in, day-out, throughout any dry spell, whichever way the wind blows. It as to come down somewhere!

Not a lot of dust suppression here. This is just one digger filling one lorry load.

Columns of dust spewing out of 'the hole' all day long.

Sunday, 14th December 2008: - Komatsu over Bradley Gardens -

Part 1 of the Panorama program - The Big Dig:

Part 2 of the Panorama program - The Big Dig:

Part 3 of the Panorama program - The Big Dig:

What it's like to live next to an opencast mine:

21st December 2005: Our Finest Hour - The High Court Win

The moment some of our group members heard about our win in the High Court in London. We had the planning permission overthrown, but this was subsequently lost on appeal a year later. The fight goes on...

Wednesday, 5th December 2007: A Days Stoppage for Miller-Argent

Environmental activists invade the mining site demonstrating their support for our cause, and their opposition to the heavy investment in fossil fuel when the detrimental impact of such is so very well understood.

Link to BBC News report Wednesday, 5 December 2007, 19:17 GMT

Link to BBC News report Thursday, 8 November 2007, 13:12 GMT