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UK’s First Deep Coal Mine For 30 Years Set To Be Approved

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The first deep coal mine to be dug in the UK in 30 years is likely to secure planning permission today in a move campaigners claim would undermine the Government’s pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050.

An artist’s impression of the mining site near Whitehaven, Cumbria © West Cumbria Mining Company

A meeting of Cumbria county council is set to approve plans for the project at a site near Whitehaven in the North West, despite green activists’ attempts to block them.

Planning officers at the council have recommended giving the green light to the mine, which would create 500 jobs in an area reliant on the nuclear and seasonal tourism industries, the Financial Times reported.

The site was first granted planning permission last year but was subject to a judicial review brought by campaigners who argued that it was incompatible with the UK’s environmental aims. 

The company behind the plan, West Cumbria Mining, had to resubmit plans. It claims the coal will be a substitute for imports, rather than increasing emissions.

The mine will extract about 2.4m tons of coal annually, mostly from under the seabed.  Processed coal would then be carried underground to trains.

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)

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October 2, 2020 at 04:07AM