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Public Inquiry to Be Held into Cumbria Coal Mine Plans After Government U-Turn

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Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has “called in” the planning application for a deep coal mine in Cumbria, as the government faces sharp criticism from environmental campaigners over the project.

Cumbria County Council approved the £165 million Woodhouse Colliery in Whitehaven, the UK’s first new deep coal mine in 30 years, last October. Ministers initially refused to intervene to stop the project, citing local government’s control over the planning process.

The development has drawn criticism at home and abroad and from within the Cabinet. Ambassadors to the UK cautioned Boris Johnson that the coal mine was undermining the UK’s leadership on climate concerns in the run-up to the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November. COP26 President Alok Sharma has reportedly been “apoplectic” over the project.

Supporters of the project say the coal extracted from beneath the Irish Sea will be used for steel-making and not burned for electricity and that sourcing coal locally involves fewer emissions than importing it from Australia or North America. They also say the mine will support local jobs.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the government’s independent climate change advisors, argue that steel producers must stop burning coal by 2035 if the UK is to meet its carbon-cutting targets. They also note that 85% of the Cumbrian coal will be exported and that every additional tonne of coal on the global market will decrease prices and increase emissions. 

Additionally, Cumbrian Action for Sustainability has calculated that investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the area could create 9,000 green jobs, more than the 500 promised by the coal mine.

Now in a significant U-turn, the government will hold a public inquiry into the development. A letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, sent to the county council, noted that controversy over the application had increased and that it has more than local importance.

The planning inspectorate will handle the inquiry. The county council will have to supply information on how the coal mine would be “consistent” with “meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change.”

Labour’s shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said the government had “finally been forced to act.”

"The truth is that this mine is terrible for our fight against climate change, won't help our steel industry and won't create secure jobs," he added.

Forty Conservative MPs have positioned themselves on the other side of the issue, writing to the council that stopping the mine would “represent a serious risk to Cumbria’s economic growth.”

Lauren Smith
Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith has worked as a journalist and copywriter for most of the last decade, covering technology, energy, and consumer rights, in the US and UK.

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