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An MHCLG spokesperson said on Friday: “West Cumbria Mining has withdrawn its application for a coal mine at Whitehaven and the government will have no further role in this case.”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.