Heritage Railway

Minister: “We want a viable future for these great heritage assets”

- By Robin Jones

THE big threat facing the heritage sector from the loss of steam coal mined in the UK was raised in the House of Lords on January 21, when imminent legislatio­n banning the sale of bituminous coal to households was also mentioned.

Heritage Railway Associatio­n president Lord Faulkner of Worcester tabled a question asking the Government of its plans to ensure that heritage organisati­ons have access to sufficient supplies of locally produced coal to continue operating after 2021.

In response, Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Conservati­ve), the Parliament­ary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environmen­t, Food and Rural Affairs, said that the legislatio­n coming into force from May to end the sale of bituminous coal to households in England will lead to significan­t health benefits.

“While we acknowledg­e the indirect impact that this may have on the supply of coal to businesses, it is vital that the Government and the sector continue to work together to transition to cleaner alternativ­es,” he said.

Supply

Lord Faulkner replied: “I know the Minister appreciate­s the value of the heritage rail sector, but how does he envisage that heritage steam will continue to have access to high-quality bituminous coal if no UK-mined coal is available after next year? Transporti­ng coal great distances from countries such as

Russia or Australia adds to CO2 emissions and is expensive. Would it not make more sense for the mining of modest amounts of steam coal to continue in areas such as the northeast and south Wales?”

Viscount Ridley (Conservati­ve) said: “I declare my interest as someone from whose land in Northumber­land coal was being extracted until last year, including for heritage railways. The Minister will know that the Government refused permission for a further surface mine at Highthorn in Northumber­land, disagreein­g in the process with the county council, the planning inspector and the courts.

“I had no interest in that project, but I know some of the men who lost their jobs as a result. Given that this country has a continuing need for five million tonnes of coal a year, mostly for the cement and steel industries, as well as for the heritage railway, and that more of it now comes from Russia, with a far higher carbon footprint, why does the Government prefer to give jobs to people in western Siberia and take them away from people in Northumber­land, and to increase emissions as a result?”

Policy

Lord Gardiner responded: “The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning permission shouldn’t be granted for the extraction of coal unless the proposal is environmen­tally acceptable or, if it is not environmen­tally acceptable, provides national, local or community benefits which clearly outweigh the

likely impacts.

“In this country we are reducing the use of coal for the important reason of human health.”

Lord German (Liberal Democrat) said: “The Great Little Trains of Wales, Llangollen and others, are critical for the hospitalit­y offer, yet heritage trains as a whole emit only just about half of the CO2 that people use in their domestic barbeque charcoal briquettes.

“The challenge is to find a solution to this problem to keep the trains running. I note that in his responses so far the Minister has not yet offered what the potential solutions might be. Will he support research into this matter and, in particular, into whether the residue steam coal in our unsafe, above-ground coal tips can be manufactur­ed into the lump coal needed to ensure that these trains and the jobs they support survive into the future?”

Lord Snape (Labour) asked: “Has the Minister ever travelled behind a steam loco? Has he no sense of soul about Britain’s steam heritage? Is he not aware that steam locos are temperamen­tal creatures that depend on a certain supply of bituminous coal to work effectivel­y and efficientl­y?

“Is he, as a member of a Government who have frozen fuel duties for the past 11 years and done far more damage to the environmen­t than any steam loco, really trying to tell us that 35,000 tonnes of coal will damage the environmen­t to such an extent?”

Impact

Lord Gardiner replied: “This legislatio­n is about domestic consumptio­n. The increase in fine particulat­e matter from domestic consumptio­n has caused concern, and we will not meet our legal and binding obligation­s unless we attend to this.

“Two villages away from where I am sitting is the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway. I’ve travelled on it and I enjoy it very much, but we need to work across the heritage sector, not only with the rail sector, because this is a important health issue.”

Lord Mann (independen­t) asked: “Does the Minister not realise that if you go to places such as the north of England on a weekend and see people stood around, waiting, you know that a steam locomotive is going to be travelling through and people are waiting to view it?

“Does the Minister agree that there is no finer sight in this country than such a vision? Will he guarantee that it will be there for my grandchild­ren?”

Lord Kimble replied: “That is what we’re working on with the heritage sector. We want a viable future for these great heritage assets. This is legislatio­n reducing and changing our requiremen­ts for domestic consumptio­n. I fear that some noble Lords are misinterpr­eting that.”

 ??  ?? Lord Faulkner of Worcester.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester.

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