Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Victory Against Open-cast Co. Durham

Coal Action Network | 18.02.2011 14:46 | Climate Chaos | Ecology | Sheffield

On Tuesday 15th February Durham county councillors voted unanimously to reject the application by UK: Coal to extract 530,000 tonnes of coal from the site known as Bradley.

UK: Coal had tried to get the planning permission with sweeteners such as paying £7000,000 for a new roundabout, £53,000 for a community fund (10p per tonne of coal!) and claiming 38 jobs would be created. Local MPs objected to the mine as did over 3,300 who signed petitions against it. In public meetings in 2007 Mr Corey of UK: Coal had admitted that there wouldn't be new jobs created by the mine as workers would be moved from another pit closing just before Bradley was opened. The case officer had recommended that the planning committee approve the application.

The Pont Valley Network and The Campaign to Protect Rural England had 9 excellent speakers who outlined why the mine would be destructive for their community. They mentioned the loss of heritage sites relating to bell pit and drift mining and wagon-ways; the effects of dust, noise, and an additional 64 large vehicle movements a day; climate change caused by burning the coal; reduced housing prices and the environmental impact on badgers, great crested newts, red kites and the damage done by open-casting to soil ecology. The local campaigners also described how the mine had been rejected in the past and that the money towards the roundabout ignored the fact that a roundabout was going to be built by the council regardless of UK: Coal’s money. They mentioned that the money in the community fund would only be sufficient to buy a chip supper for everyone in the surrounding area.

There were two speakers in favour, one of which was UK: Coal.

The councillors fed back then gave their input which included comments about the high landscape value which would be damaged dramatically by the mine; “the horrendous environmental impact”; that UK: Coal hold the mineral rights to the whole valley and that the approval of this site could result in massive devastation to the whole valley; one of the councillors referred to UK: Coal as “vandals” and “environmental vandals” ; one of the councillors also said that he had never seen a better local campaign!

The particular planning objections were based on the following aspects of the County Durham Minerals Plan policies – M7, M36, M23, M24, M27, MM36 and M42. These relate to unacceptable environmental or community impacts out weighing the amenities, effects on high landscape; important features of landscape: effects on ancient woodland; dust and transport as well as traffic safety.
There have been many delays with changes within the council system but finally UK: Coal has been shown the door. The local campaign has done a fantastic job at raising awareness and objection letters as well as speaking on the day. Thank you to them. UK: Coal is expected to appeal.

Coal Action Network
- Homepage: http://coalaction.org.uk/

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech