The New Language of Tower Colliery

Posted on January 30th, 2008 filed in Environment, Politics

Now that Tower Colliery has finally closed, the new language that has been incubating there during the past thirteen or so years finally emerges.

Tyrone O’Sullivan and Tower Colliery shareholders now speak the language of business development and exploitation, the language of managers of men and land, of balance sheets, profit and bottom lines.

Over the past year or so, stories have been drip-fed via the corporate press about possible developments at the Tower site after its closure, including entrepreneurial-sounding visions for a waste processing plant, a housing and retail development, a museum and a range of other schemes.

There has been much talk about creating “sustainable jobs” at the former Colliery site, but one is skeptical of this type of lofty talk. The only idea not discussed by Tower Colliery shareholders is that perhaps the land be left to recover after nearly two hundred or so years of gross industrial exploitation.

No discussion has taken part with the communities of Rhigos or Hirwaun, or indeed any other community that will be blighted by more industrial expansion or development at the Tower Colliery site.

The new language of Tower Colliery is the language of a business class.