Coal mine plan blocked again
SEVEN-YEAR BATTLE FOR COMMUNITY GROUP ENDS IN VICTORY
CONTROVERSIAL plans for an opencast mine in Northumberland have been rejected by Government for the second time.
Banks Mining’s bid to extract 2.75 million tonnes of coal from land at Highthorn, near Druridge Bay, has been refused, sparking celebrations among those who have fought against the plans for seven years.
On Tuesday, Robert Jenrick announced the scheme was “environmentally unacceptable because of the cumulative successive impacts on the landscape and local community”, and would be rejected.
The scheme could have started back in 2016, when it received the go-ahead from Northumberland County Council, had it not been for the efforts of locals, activists and politicians.
Their challenge led to a public inquiry, where the scheme was recommended for approval by a government planning inspector but then thrown out on environmental grounds by then-communities secretary Sajid Javid.
Banks launched a high court challenge, and won the right to have the plans considered again but Mr Jenrick has now decided the plans will not go ahead.
Those who battled against the plans say their victory shows just what local campaigns can achieve.
Lynne Gargett, from local group Save Druridge Bay, said: “It shows what little people can do – everybody can do something, you don’t have to have the knowledge when you start, you learn it along the way, you bring everybody together, you fundraise, you get people on board.
“This all started in 2013 and at the beginning it was a very, very small group, it must only have been seven or eight people, all local to Druridge Bay right where the opencast would have been. We grew quite substantially, we had to: we started fundraising and putting on events. Alnwick Friends of the Earth got involved and were really helpful, and then we started to have people from the Green Party and Greenpeace getting involved.
“It meant that everybody got together and had something to offer, and that’s the reason we won this, because we had so many different people involved, and we had so many great experts to help us put together the evidence.”
Berwick MP AnneMarie Trevelyan also joined those celebrating the news. The MP, who has appeared at rallies and says she has worked with groups opposing the plans, said the decision was the result of a “long-fought battle”.
She said: “This decision from the Secretary of State is incredibly welcome to all of us who have campaigned to protect our precious coastline, and the community in Druridge Bay who have had the spectre of this proposition hanging over them for a number of years.” She added: “This long-fought battle to protect our local environment has been a culmination of years of work by local people, groups and politicians of all parties, coming together to work for the future of their community and I pay tribute to everyone who has played their part in safeguarding our incredible landscape for future generations.” Friends of the Earth called on Banks to now end its fight to open the mine. Campaigner Tony Bosworth said: “Coal mines must be consigned to the history books if we are going to avoid climate breakdown. “Let’s leave coal in the ground where it belongs, and invest in energy saving and renewable power to build the safe, clean and fairer future we so urgently need.
“It’s time for Banks Mining to walk away from Druridge Bay and further legal challenges, and abandon plans for any more new mines.”
Banks Mining continues to insist that the local mining plans would have brought about a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The company argues without them, coal will continue to be transported from overseas, and that the plan would have brought “much-needed and valued jobs” to the North East.
Executive director Gavin Styles added: “We are just so very saddened that this misplaced decision stops us from being in a position to offer them and the many people living in the surrounding communities who supported the Highthorn application the continued support through jobs and investment that they so richly deserve and need.”
Banks said it will now “review the precise reasons for this decision before agreeing on the most appropriate steps to take.”