§ 12.6 am
§ Mr. Alan W. Williams (Carmarthen)I beg leave to present a petition on the expansion of opencast coal mining in south Wales.
The petition, which is made up of a terrific number of sheets of paper, has been signed by more than 19,000 people from the coal-mining areas of south Wales. The title page is beautifully presented and written in Welsh. I understand that it is the first petition to be presented in the Welsh language. Unfortunately, the rules of the House do not permit me to read the petition in Welsh, but in translation it reads as follows:
Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your honourable House will urge the Secretary of State for Wales to consider that coalfield communities should not be subjected to opencast coal mining against their wishes, and to introduce new guidelines which more adequately safeguard the environment, development needs and cultural heritage of the people of the coalfield communities of South Wales.
§ To lie upon the Table.