Richard, 10th Duke of Buccleuch

EXCLUSIVE BY ROB EDWARDS

SCOTLAND ’S largest private landowner, t he Duke of Buccleuch, has become embroiled in a fierce battle with an Australian company over who should profit from exploiting potentially huge underground coal reserves.

An 11th-hour intervention by the Duke’s staff led Dumfries and Galloway Council to withdraw a bid by Melbourne-based New Age Exploration (NAE) to carry out exploratory drilling for coal at Canonbie, near the English Border. Buccleuch Estate has its own, conflicting plans for extracting gas from the same coal bed.

The estate has been accused by a local councillor of “bullying” NAE to protect its commercial interests. But the estate insists the allegation is unfounded, and that it was simply exercising its legitimate rights.

The “Canonbie coal war” is erupting as the coal industry elsewhere in Scotland is collapsing. Two companies have gone bust, putting hundreds of people out of work and leaving as many as 15 opencast mines across the country without enough money to clean them up.

Environmental groups, l ocal communities and politicians have called for a ban on new coal developments until the crisis is resolved.

Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends Of The Earth Scotland, said: “Dumfries and Galloway seems to be in a world of its own where companies are competing to rip yet more fossil fuels out of the ground.”

He said he doubted whether the rival coal schemes would be economic, and warned that if they went ahead, the south of Scotland could become “the dirty fuel capital of Europe”. More coal development was the last thing the climate needed, he argued.

“Climate change is the challenge of our age … coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and Scotland should be leading the way in leaving it in the ground.”

The Buccleuch estate has been working with another Australian company, Dart Energy, on plans to extract coalbed methane from under the ground around Canonbie. But NAE has also announced ambitious plans to dig a new deep mine for coal, covering part of the same area.

NAE has been asking for permission to drill some test bores on Buccleuch land since last August, but has been refused. As a result, it sought a lease from Dumfries and Galloway Council to use an old primary school at Glenzier for drilling. This lies immediately adjacent to Buccleuch land.

The lease application was due to be considered by the council’s policy and resources committee on June 20, but was withdrawn by council officials at the last minute without explanation. The Sunday Herald has since discovered that this was because the Buccleuch estate intervened and threatened legal action.

Archie Dryburgh, Labour councillor for Annandale East and Eskdale, said he and other councillors had been told by a Buccleuch manager that the estate was concerned about environmental pollution from the proposed test drilling. The estate wanted to inform the council that, if pollution occurred, legal remedies would be pursued.

“I t was a bit of a rammy,” Dryburgh said, accusing Buccleuch of “bullying” behaviour. “NAE has been treated pretty badly. There’s not been a level playing field.”

NAEconfirmedthat the Buccleuch estate had raised an objection to its drilling, but insisted there was no reason why it shouldn’t go ahead.

“NAE has not withdrawn its application,” said a company spokeswoman. “Dumfries and Galloway Council has informed NAE that they have delayed their decision for one month while they seek legal advice.”

The company has been testdrilling elsewhere since January emergency basis”.

Dart has applied for planning permission to sink 22 wells at 14 sites to extract up to 60 billion cubic feet of methane at Airth.

The application has prompted more than 1500 objections, has been delayed by local authorities and is now being considered by the Scottish Government.

Last week, Falkirk Council agreed to urge the Government to hold a public inquiry into the plans.