TATA STEEL has confirmed that work is underway to assess the damage caused by Wednesday night’s fire at its Port Talbot steelworks.

The company said the incident happened at the Pickle Line on Wednesday evening, prompting the temporary shutdown of the Hot Strip Mill.

In an operational update issued at 2:30pm on Friday (Jun 5), Tata Steel said teams were now working towards a planned restart of the Hot Strip Mill in the middle of next week.

The fire led to a major emergency response at the Port Talbot site, with emergency services called to the steelworks at around 8:00pm on Wednesday.

Earlier statements from the company confirmed that all personnel were accounted for and evacuated safely.

Tata Steel has also said the fire was not connected to the planned demolition of a redundant gas holder carried out at the site earlier the same evening.

The company said supply chain teams were now putting mitigation plans in place, including alternative processing at the Llanwern Cold Mill and Pickle Line.

Those measures are aimed at maintaining continuity of supply and supporting customers while the affected area is assessed.

In its latest update, Tata Steel said: “Following the incident at the Pickle Line on Wednesday evening, work is now underway to carry out a full assessment of the area affected.

“During the incident, the Hot Strip Mill was temporarily taken offline. Teams are working towards a planned restart in the middle of next week.

“Our Supply Chain teams are actively implementing mitigation plans, including alternative processing at the Llanwern Cold Mill and Pickle Line.

“These actions are focused on maintaining continuity of supply and supporting our customers during this period.

“Our priority remains the safety of our people and the safe, stable operation of our assets. We will continue to provide updates as further information becomes available.

“We would like to thank our employees and the emergency services for their swift and professional response.”

Sharon Graham, from the union Unite, said the blaze has caused “substantial damage to a vital production line”.

“Measures must now be put in place to protect jobs both at Tata and down the supply chain during any period of disruption,” she explained. 

“Meanwhile we are asking Tata and the government to ensure that operations are rebuilt as swiftly as possible.”

She thanked the emergency services for bringing the fire under control so quickly and confirmed that no-one was injured.

The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed.

Questions over 2028 revaluation as ministers reconsider next steps

THE FUTURE of council tax reform in Wales has been thrown into uncertainty after the Welsh Government confirmed it is reviewing whether to proceed with a planned revaluation of homes due in 2028.

The move has sparked criticism from opposition parties, who say ministers are sending mixed messages to households already struggling with rising bills.

Council tax is one of the largest expenses for many families in Wales and helps fund local services including rubbish collections, social care, libraries and road maintenance. Yet critics have long argued the current system is unfair because charges are based on historic property values rather than people’s ability to pay.

Welsh homes have not been revalued for more than two decades, despite major changes in house prices since the early 2000s.

Speaking to BBC Wales, Local Government Minister Siân Gwenllian confirmed ministers were “actively looking” at whether to proceed with the planned reforms, but stopped short of guaranteeing that a revaluation would take place.

She said the issue sat within the remit of Finance Minister Elin Jones and discussions were ongoing about what the government’s “next steps” would be.

Plaid Cymru entered government after promising to make council tax fairer, describing the existing system in its Senedd election manifesto as “long overdue for reform”. Reform was also part of Plaid’s previous co-operation agreement with Welsh Labour.

However, ministers have now signalled that the timetable could change.

A Welsh Government spokesperson did not directly confirm whether the planned 2028 revaluation would still go ahead, instead saying ministers remained committed to creating a “fairer” system and would set out their approach in due course.

The spokesperson said: “Getting reform right matters more than getting it done quickly.”

Potential winners and losers

Any overhaul of council tax has the potential to create political controversy.

One local government source described reform as a “classic zero-sum game” in which households that benefit tend to remain quiet, while those facing higher bills react strongly.

Under earlier proposals, council tax bands would have been updated to reflect modern property values, with the possibility of lower-band homes paying less and higher-value properties paying more.

Figures produced during Wales’ last revaluation in 2003 suggested around one in three homes moved up at least one band, while most stayed the same and a small number moved down.

Opposition parties attack ‘uncertainty’

Labour MS and former Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas accused the new Plaid-led government of lacking clarity, saying it was “extraordinary” that ministers could not confirm whether they would continue with a policy Plaid had previously championed.

He said many households were still struggling with the cost of living crisis and needed certainty about future bills.

Reform Wales also criticised what it called a lack of clear decision-making, saying uncertainty would do little to reassure families facing increasing household costs.

Meanwhile, Welsh Conservative finance spokesperson Peter Fox urged ministers to abandon revaluation plans altogether, warning that many homeowners could face higher council tax bills.

He said: “The last thing that people need right now is to be spending even more on their council tax bills than before.”

Second homes and holiday lets under review

The Welsh Government also confirmed it is reviewing rules affecting self-catering accommodation and second homes.

Under current rules, self-catering holiday properties must be available to let for at least 252 days and actually let for an average of 182 days over several years in order to qualify for business rates instead of often higher council tax charges.

The measures were introduced as part of efforts to tackle the impact of second homes and holiday lets on local housing markets in parts of Wales, including communities in Pembrokeshire, Gwynedd and Ceredigion.

Gwenllian said ministers would now look “forensically” at whether those policies were working and whether further action may be needed.

The uncertainty over council tax reform comes at a time when many Welsh councils are continuing to raise bills, with some local authorities approving increases of close to ten per cent in recent years as they struggle to balance budgets.

For households already feeling the pressure of rising living costs, ministers now face difficult decisions over whether changing the system risks creating more winners – or more losers.

A FORMER paddleboard company owner jailed over the deaths of four people on the Western Cleddau has failed in a Court of Appeal bid to challenge her sentence.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, of Port Talbot, was jailed for ten years and six months in April 2025 after admitting four counts of gross negligence manslaughter.

Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died following a paddleboarding trip on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest on October 30, 2021.

The group had entered the water in dangerous flood conditions before being swept over the weir near County Hall.

Sentence not excessive

Three judges at the Court of Appeal rejected arguments that Lloyd’s sentence was “manifestly excessive”.

Lady Justice May said the original sentencing judge had clearly taken Lloyd’s mitigation into account and ruled there was no arguable basis for reducing the term.

Lloyd, a former South Wales Police officer, had been running the paddleboarding trip through her company, Salty Dog Co Ltd.

At sentencing, the court heard neither Lloyd nor fellow instructor Paul O’Dwyer was qualified to lead the tour in such conditions.

‘Abysmal’ safety failures

Mrs Justice Stacey, who sentenced Lloyd, described the approach to health and safety as “abysmal”.

The court heard there had been heavy rain in the days before the trip, leaving the river in flood with a visibly strong current.

Participants were taken towards the weir, where they were swept into turbulent water described as a hydraulic jump. Several were wearing ankle leashes, which were unsuitable for fast-flowing water and made escape more difficult.

The court was told there had been no proper safety briefing, no suitable risk assessment, and no next-of-kin details taken.

Lloyd’s police and RNLI background was also raised in court, with the judge saying she “knew better”.

Victims remembered

Paul O’Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Morgan Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Nicola Wheatley, from Pontarddulais, died at the scene.

Andrea Powell, from Bridgend, died in hospital on November 5, 2021.

During the sentencing hearing, families of the victims described the devastating impact of the tragedy.

Mr O’Dwyer had initially managed to get out of the water but went back in to try to help others.

Dyfed-Powys Police previously described the incident as “completely avoidable”, while the Health and Safety Executive said Lloyd had failed to plan for obvious risks or take basic safety precautions.