COAL MINE REFUSAL A ‘HAMMER BLOW’ FOR STEAM RAILWAYS
Preservation must work together to secure future supplies, says HRA.
THE HIGHTHORN REFUSAL IS MASSIVELY DISAPPOINTING
STEVE OATES, HERITAGE RAILWAY ASSOCIATION CEO
The Heritage Railway Association says it is vital that steam railways work together to ensure their future supplies of coal.
It comes after Banks Group’s planning application for its proposed Highthorn surface mine in Northumberland was rejected by Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, following a nigh-on five-year planning battle, a decision which the HRA described as “a hammer blow to Britain’s heritage railways, many of which may be forced to reduce or even cease operation as a result.”
Banks Mining executive director Gavin Styles said: “We are extremely disappointed that, more than four years after an independent planning inspector recommended that the Highthorn scheme should go ahead, the Secretary of State has once again chosen to go against this expert advice.
“At a time when our region and country is facing an unprecedented economic crisis, this decision effectively hands the much-needed and valued jobs of our North East workforce to Russian miners, who will be delighted to meet British industry’s continuing need for coal while simultaneously significantly increasing global greenhouse gas emissions.
“This decision won’t solve the problem but will instead make it worse.”
Following the closure of Banks’ Bradley surface mine in County Durham in August, there are no working coal mines in England or Scotland extracting coal suitable for locomotives, leaving Ffos-yFran – in Merthyr Tydfil – as preservation’s sole remaining British source. Had Highthorn been approved, it would have yielded three million tonnes of coal over a planned five-year operating period and would have ensured continuity of supply to Britain’s railways.
“It makes no sense,” said HRA CEO Steve Oates. “The UK needs five million tonnes of coal every year, for steel and cement production. The decision to end coal production in the
UK is driven by CO2 reduction targets, but the CO2 generated by importing coal from countries like Russia and the USA produces ten times more emissions than producing it domestically.
“Steam engines need washed lump coal. Such coal can be imported but it will come at prices most railways simply won’t be able to afford.”
He added: “The Highthorn refusal is massively disappointing. The Heritage Railway Association is considering how to proceed. We’re already taking the lead in evaluating options for securing supplies from overseas, and ways of combining the buying power of our sector to make it happen.”
Mr Oates concluded: “Whatever we do, it is more important than ever before for all heritage railways to work together to ensure future coal supplies.”
The move comes as the North Yorkshire Moors Railway prepares to trial a small batch of Russian coal. NYMR general manager Chris Price said: “An opportunity has arisen for the NYMR to try a small batch of Russian coal for future reference. We will be seeing how it performs and assessing its suitability for the future.”