West Cumbria Mining withdraws application
First approved locally in 2019 and rubber-stamped by then-secretary of state Michael Gove in 2022, the £165m coal mine was to have been developed close to Whitehaven.
Billed as Woodhouse Colliery, the project was mapped out for a former chemicals plant within the West Cumbrian coalfield next to the former Haig Colliery, which was a working mine between 1914 and 1986.
On securing the nod from Gove – who said the project would be “neutral” in climate change terms, and majored on the potential use of coal for UK steelmaking – WCM said it would work towards turning 689 acres into a colliery capable of extracting 2.7m tonnes of metallurgical coal each year.
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However, the Gove decision was challenged by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change. Last summer, the government said it would not defend the 2022 decision, which was then quashed in the High Court in September.
An MHCLG spokesperson said on Friday: “West Cumbria Mining has withdrawn its application for a coal mine at Whitehaven and the government will have no further role in this case.”
With the Gove decision quashed, the case fell to be redetermined by the secretary of state, who in line with normal procedure, invited the main parties to make representations to inform the redetermination.
During that process, the developer withdrew the application for planning permission, which now dates back almost eight years, to 2017.
Westmorland & Lonsdale MP and ex-leader of the Lib Dems Tim Farron took to social media to post: “After years of campaigning it’s welcome that these environmentally backwards plans have been axed.
“The UK steel industry was very clear that this coal was NOT suitable for steel making in this country and so the economic case for this polluting mine was completely dead.”
WCM has been approached for comment.
Another nail in the coffin of UK manufacturing and the UK economy as a whole.
By More Anonymous than the others
Absolutely ridiculous decision not to go ahead with this project. I’m sick of tired of these ‘ do gooders’ saving the world to massage their own egos.
Perhaps when countries like China, USA, India, Russia and Australia get their own house in order I may become more interested in this country doing their bit. A bit it is by the way. In the meantime another opportunity for creating real jobs has been lost. This in an area crying out for them.
By Advocate for real jobs
It pretty well sums up where we are as a country to see a politician advising a commercial party that there is no economic case for their plans.
Since the advent of Trump, and the pushback against carbon economics and globalisation, one might question if the demise of such industry will be such a cause for celebration looking forward.
By Anonymous
Excellent news. We are in the 21st century not the 18th.
By Anonymous
The country continues to inhibit its need for self reliance… We all know coal is ‘bad’ but like petrol, it will be needed for decades.. All these tree huggers will be patting themselves on the back but when they fancy a trip on a nice steam train, you can bet your next mung bean salad that the little train is running on imported coal shipped from as far away as Australia…
By P C McGarry
It’s important to have some balance to the comments. There is no way that the proposed scheme would be neutral in climate terms, only in a very narrow definition that the building itself might be. These statements conveniently don’t take into consideration the hugely polluting and negative climate and carbon impacts of mining and using the coal. This is now proved in precedent that the impacts of the use of the fossil fuels need to be taken into account. The article also states that the UK Steel industry was clear this wasn’t the right type of coal.
It would have be the WCM claiming that to be mined for other uses, so not a correct claim. Investing in outdated technology and fossil fuels would have been a massive backward and negative step. Key investment is required in new jobs and technologies which is the way to have clean growth not polluting industries that require subsidies and have no place in long term economic plans.
By Good news
Rather be a tree hugger than a flat earther.
By Anonymous