{"id":70308,"date":"2022-12-21T14:30:50","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T14:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=70308"},"modified":"2022-12-21T23:05:09","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T23:05:09","slug":"merthyr-is-used-to-having-the-fag-end-of-everything-couple-spend-20-years-fighting-the-uks-largest-open-cast-coal-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2022\/12\/21\/merthyr-is-used-to-having-the-fag-end-of-everything-couple-spend-20-years-fighting-the-uks-largest-open-cast-coal-mine\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Merthyr is used to having the fag end of everything’: Couple spend 20 years fighting the UK\u2019s largest open-cast coal mine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alyson and Chris Austin campaign against the expansion of Merthyr’s Ffos-y-Fran but also need to counter a local culture of disillusionment <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

BEFORE I\u2019ve even sat down in Alyson and Chris Austin\u2019s home on a little estate in Merthyr, Chris has started explaining the couple’s latest frustration and distress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent planning application, submitted in September, seeks to extend the mining operations of the UK\u2019s largest open cast coal mine, Ffos-y-Fran, for another nine months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple plans to oppose the application and keep fighting what they see as a blight on their environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this for 18 years,” says Alyson. <\/p>\n\n\n

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