Dear Friends,  Thank you for everything you are doing to stop this crazy plan.

From Cumbria to London Over 1500 PEOPLE ASK THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO CALL IN THE CRAZY COAL MINE DECISION 

This coal mine should have been stopped on climate grounds alone, never mind that the site is so close to Sellafield, the most hazardous nuclear installation in Europe.    The Councillors who made the decision and the public have effectively been kept in the dark and apathetic about the real hazards of this mine.   

Why?  

This coal mine needs to be viewed in the full light of public scrutiny and expert assessment and that can only happen if the Secretary of State calls in the plan for a public inquiry.

On Wednesday 10th April we will be delivering a petition to the Communities Secretary, James Brockenshire MP in London asking him to call in the crazy coal mine plan.  People are invited to join in and make their voices heard.

We will meet  at 2pm – Demo 2-4pm

outside the MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

Tim Farron MP has written asking for the decision to be called in  and we have also written on behalf of Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole to the Secretary of State.

The more people and groups that write and request that the Secretary of State calls in the decision made by Cumbria County Council the better, as a show of force will demonstrate the strength of feeling against this mine on the double whammy of climate and nuclear safety grounds.  

The letter should be addressed to James Brokenshire MP, the Secretary of State. [email protected].

Re: Application Reference No. 4/17/9007 – Former Marchon Site, Pow Beck Valley and area from Marchon Site to St Bees Coast, Whitehaven, Cumbria

Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole’s  full letter can be found here 

 Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole are urging others to send their own letters to the Secretary of State asking that he calls in the decision.  The main points to make are that West Cumbria Mining has not given figures on CO2 Emissions. There are no independent assessments.  There has been no detailed scrutiny or debate on the close proximity of deep mining to Sellafield’s high level radioactive wastes.

Dear Friends,

you will have read in the national press (where were they when we were campaigning ahead of the vote) that the planners voted unanimously to approve the coal mine.  They heard strong  evidence that should have stopped this plan in its tracks, from highly respected climate experts, a planning expert and nuclear safety campaigners  and then the Mayor of Copeland spoke vehemently telling the planners to ignore all the objectors and all the "sensationalist" objections ...he made the Mayor in the movie Jaws actually  look reasonable.  We are still in great shock but we are redoubling our resolve to fight this decision.    Of all the national and international  press there is one paper that has reflected Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole's concern that this is Too Near Sellafield.  That paper is the German national newspaper called Taz.  There is more information about the terrible.decision and a link translating Taz's article.below.  We will update you with info on how we can Challenge and overturn this utterly shameful and disastrous decision .  Thank you for all your support so far, because of you all there has been opposition to this first deep coal mine in the UK in decades...Onwards and Upwards https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/13679/

As the Council decision on the proposed coal mine is now postponed from Feb 22nd – some of us will use that date to visit the headquarters of West Cumbria Mining in Whitehaven and make our views known there.

[The Council meeting is now scheduled for March 19th in Kendal at 10.00 am.]

West Cumbria Mining’s webpage is here – https://www.westcumbriamining.com/It will tell you of the wonders of deep sea mining next to Sellafield.

Some of us will catch the 12.02 train from Lancaster arriving at Whitehaven at 14.34.  (Calling points include Grange,  Ulverston, Barrow, Millom …)

We can then walk to the HQ of WCM at the Haig Museum and meet there about 3.00 to 3.30 to gather with anyone who has come by car/bike or from other directions.
We will then make our views known in a peaceful manner – have a cuppa and catch the train back.

Hope to see you there – bring banners (and sandwiches for on the train)

More info here

MANY THANKS to ALL who have campaigned and contributed to Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole.

A new date has now been set for the planning meeting in Kendal 22nd February.  The more people who can come along to the meeting and speak the better chance we have of stopping this plan for the first deep coal mine in the UK for over 30 years

Not much time!  Please write to Cumbria County Council,s Development Control Committee and let them know you OBJECT. You can also ask to speak at the Meeting in Kendal – the more speakers the better chance we have of stopping the plan.

 Members of the Committee http://councilportal.cumbria.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=124

People also outside Cumbria can both object and speak if they register with  nicola.harrison@cumbria.gov.uk

To Find the Planning Documents

You can insert insert application reference 4/17/9007 in Cumbria County Council’s search box  – and then click on the  “Documents” link on the right hand side.

NOTE The application reference  is 4/17/9007, West Cumbria Mining, Woodhouse Colliery. Written submissions can be sent to Jackie Currie, Cumbria County Council Development Control Team, County Offices, Busher Walk,  Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4RQ or via mail at [email protected].  or jackie.currie@cumbria.gov.uk

There is also an online petition.

This is what a former miner says about why coal mining should not return to Cumbria

Dear Friends. The new date for the planning Meeting is 30th May in Kendal at the County Council Offices 10am.  I will write again with more info soon.

with best wishes and thanks.  Let's make sure we Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole!

Marianne

Black Guillemot - St Bees is the last nesting place in England

Dear Friends,

Easter Greetings!  Many thanks to all who have been sharing, talking and campaigning to stop the first deep coal mine in the UK for 30 years.

The planning decision date has been cancelled 3 times now. The new date for the planning meeting in Kendal is 18th April.  

We continue to campaign against this plan with letters to press and actions on the streets.

Opposition letters continue to be sent to Cumbria County Council including from Scientists for Global Responsibility who have said: "

• ..combustion of the coal from this mine will lead to emissions of about 8.3 million tonnes of CO2 each year during the main production phase. This is about the same as the annual emissions of about 900,000 British citizens. However, because it is planned to export much of the coal, these emissions will appear in the ‘environmental accounts’ of other countries, not the UK – although the UK would arguably bear ethical responsibility.

• Coal mines emit significant levels of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which further exacerbates climate change. This coal mine will be no different. Such emissions are hard to control. And, of course, there will be additional carbon emissions from the fossil fuels used to produce energy for the mining process itself. Again using figures from Defra, I estimate that this will add approximately 1.2 million tonnes to the figure above, making a total of 9.5 million tonnes of CO2 each year – equivalent to over 1,000,000 UK citizens...."

Please do join Scientists for Global Responsibility and write a few lines (or more!!) opposing this plan to the Development Control Committee via DC Officer Rachel Brophy   quoting:  Planning Application 4/17/9007: Woodhouse Colliery

email: [email protected] 

Many thanks

Marianne

Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your sharing and talking about this mad, bad and dangerous plan.  There is now a petition at 38 Degrees to sign and share with all your friends and family.  The more signatures we get the better as we will be delivering the petition to Cumbria County Council on 7th March at the Planning Meeting.  We plan to have days of demonstrating and leafletting before the meeting to raise awareness.  Incredibly the press has been so very negligent in any critical reporting on this,  the first deep coal mine in 30 years in the UK, despite even the Coal Authority objecting to it!  What is going on?  Lets Big Up this Petition so it Cannot be Ignored!

The petition can be found here.......

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/keep-cumbrian-coal-in-the-hole-its-too-near-sellafield

Many Thanks!

Onwards and Upwards

Marianne

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!

Thanks to all of you we have a fighting chance to stop the first deep coal mine in 30 years in the UK. 

The date for the planning meeting has been deferred yet again (this will be the third date!)  

New Date:  7th March 2018 at Kendal County Offices

West Cumbria Mining accidently hit seam of Methane with "exploratory drilling" off St Bees.

The Old Baths at Whitehaven made of St Bees Sandstone

Fleswick Bay, St Bees

To recap: The plan is to return to the historic and dangerous mining of  coal (coking and non coking) deep under the Irish Sea off St Bees. This plan has bizarrely had a free ride despite the fact that for over a decade the UK has been told that new nuclear is “needed” to replace coal mining and stop runaway climate change.  The plan is just 5 miles from Sellafield and the proposed new reactors of Moorside.

Even the Coal Authority and the Environment Agency have written to Cumbria County Council saying that this new coal mine plan is too dangerous.  But these warning voices have not, so far, been given an airing in the national or even the local media.  This silence is bewildering and is a scandal in itself.

Campaigners have been aiming to highlight concerns not only about the 750 million tonnes of CO2 and the release of much more potent methane (this has already happened with the developers accidently hitting a seam of methane!) but also about the proximity to Sellafield and the danger of possible seismic activity. That old Windscale chimney is still there teetering above the radioactive ponds! There is another concern. Steve Reece, the Operations Director for developers West Cumbria Mining (who are “currently focussed on coal,” )  was previously employed by Radioactive Waste Management.

RWM is the government body tasked with ensuring the infrastructure and workforce are in place for a deep “Geological Disposal Facility” for heat generating nuclear wastes. 

There are a lot of very good reasons to oppose this plan, not least to protect our future and that of our European neighbours. 

Planning Meeting 7th March in Kendal at County Offices

To speak at the meeting (usually in the morning) or WRITE a letter of objection please contact:

Jackie Currie

Senior Democratic Services Officer

Legal & Democratic Services

Cumbria County Council| Cumbria House

Botchergate|Carlisle|Cumbria CA1 1RD

Tel: 01228 221030 Mobile 0788 1250007

Email [email protected]

quoting:  West Cumbria Mining Ltd planning application ref 4/17/9007.

THANK YOU so much to everyone who has been working hard to share information and posts about the plan for the first deep coal mine in 30 years in the UK - it is Amazing that we hit our Crowdjustice, crowdfund target given the media silence so far on the growing opposition to this plan.  The more people who write letters to the press and generally make a noise about this plan the better as we seem to be hitting a wall of silence.  We need to shout it out.

I've written letter to go with the many unpublished press releases and letters sent to the national press on the first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years.  Have all the national media had a memo to say nothing about it?  There has been nothing in the national media (and virtually nowt in the local media) on what a bad idea it is. What is going on?

Unpublished letter to the Guardian 

DIVEST FROM COAL? – TELL THAT TO THE BLACK GUILLEMOTS

Dear Editor

The report that global insurance firms are divesting from fossil fuels has not reached us here  in the desolate north (“Growing number of global insurance firms divesting from fossil fuels” Jonathon Watts 15.11.17) .Whats worst than the first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years?  A deep coal mine just five miles from the worlds most dangerous nuclear waste dump, Sellafield!  OK what could go wrong? Quite a lot.  Sellafield lies adjacent to the Lake District Boundary Fault and deep coal mining is known to induce seismic activity.  Which insurance company underwrites Sellafield?  Joe Public plc.

The new undersea coal mine would be closer to Sellafield than ever before.  It would produce 750 million tonnes of CO2.  It would be under and adjacent to the magnificent St Bees coastline, the only place in England where the black guillemot nests.  There are a lot of reasons to be very concerned indeed about this truly lethal plan. The coal mine will be decided upon by Cumbria County Council on January 24th 2018.  Under 70 days to stop the first new coal mine in the UK in 30 years.

yours sincerely

Marianne Birkby

Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole

address

https://keepcumbriancoalinthehole.wordpress.com/

***THANK YOU***

We have exceeded our target Thanks to All of You who have Pledged, Shared and Made a Noise!

We now have the fund in place to look at challenging Cumbria County Council if they ignore the advice of experts from the Colourful Coast Partnership, the National Trust, Natural England, the RSPB, Coal Action Network and others by rubberstamping this truly lethal plan.

CELEBRATION CHRISTMAS WALK

To celebrate the success of the Crowdjustice campaign, our mascot, Bernie the Polar Bear would like to invite you to join us on a Christmas walk from Whitehaven to St Bees on 7th December.  We will meet at The Beacon Whitehaven at 11am, 7th Dec.  For those who don't want to do the whole walk (it is quite a challenging cliff top walk of 6 miles) then there is the opportunity to join us for a mile to the Haig Colliery where West Cumbria Mining will be having an open day.  The more people who challenge their PR spin the better!  Walkers doing the whole route will catch the train back from St Bees.

More details on the 7th Dec walk will be posted on our campaign website https://keepcumbriancoalinthehole.wordpress.com/

Thank you once again and look forward to seeing some of you on December 7th x

Dear Friends

Thank you so much to all who have been sharing and talking about the Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole CrowdJustice crowd funding campaign.

There are 15 days to go on our crowd funding campaign.  This aims to secure enough funds to look at a judicial review should Cumbria County Council say yes to a new coal mine off St Bees.  The Council’s meeting is on the 24th January

We have just over a fortnight left to raise £1500.  Already, thanks to generous pledges we have raised £1,285…  so a last push needed.  Please do keep sharing and talking about this.

There are so many reasons to be fighting this coal mine, not least because of the close proximity to Sellafield.  Let your friends know they can pledge here to be a climate warrior and a much needed nuclear safety campaigner all in one go!

Sandstone Cliffs at St Bees - opposite this is the developers test drilling rig out in the Irish Sea - just to the left is Sellafield

Stop Coal - Keep it in the Hole.....too near Sellafield!

Thank You ALL so much - we are well on the way to reaching our target of £1500.  This is made all the more remarkable by the lack of any critical  reporting on the coal mine plan from the national printed media (what is going on?) 

There is almost universal silence on this coal mine plan from the national printed media apart from the occasionally parroted press release from the developers.  So BIG THANKS to Scisco Media for publishing the following! 

The China Connection: First Deep Coal Mine in The UK for 30 Years

Follow the Cumbrian Coal Mine money….all the way to China

Back in 2015 the Champagne glasses were clinking in The Four Seasons, a Chinese restaurant in Whitehaven, Cumbria.  West Cumbria Mining was “happily toasting the recent visit to the UK of Chinese premier Xi Jinping.” As well they might. Over £14m of funding for the development has come from EMR Capital Resources Fund, an Australian-managed private equity fund. Managed by Owen Hegarty and Jason Chang, pride of place in the head office is a photo of “an Australian politician at the signing of an agreement between EMR and a bank in China”.  

Unfathomable

Why China, through EMR Capital, would want to put money into a coal mine in the UK is unfathomable. In 2015, when West Cumbria Mining were toasting the visit of Xi Jinping, the Chinese people were protesting against a coal-fired plant at Heyuan “around 10,000 Chinese residents of Heyuan in north-eastern Guangdong took to the streets on Sunday (12 April) to protest against (the expansion of ) a coal-fired power plant in the region.” This is because the air and water in the region was already heavily polluted. The incidences of  inhuman brutality by the Chinese regime to protestors is well documented but rarely mentioned in the new era of globalisation at any cost.

As well as protesting against new coal, existing mining operations are withholding wages for their miners as there is overcapacity in the Chinese market and in a bid to solve this mines have been closed down. Thousands of coal miners have been on the streets protesting about unpaid wages

So why on earth would China want to invest in coal in the UK? There is the strategic importance of coal mining under the Irish Seat at St Bees: it is only 8km from Sellafield but that is paranoid thinking.  Then there is the prestigious St Bees school, the oldest (?) in the UK founded in 1583 which unaccountably closed in 2015 (when West Cumbria Mining were chinking their Champagne glasses). Guess what happened next? St Bees school has been “saved” by Shenzhen International, a mega Chinese organisation which seems to have fingers in all sorts of pies.

It is madness and the Chinese people are absolutely right to be protesting on the streets in their tens of thousands about new coal mines opening up in their country.

So what’s happening in Cumbria?

Well, there is a statue in Whitehaven – a poignant memorial to coal miners who lost their lives. “End of an Era”, it’s called. Only apparently it isn’t.

Now there is the plan by West Cumbria Mining (backed by EMR Capital) to expand the dangerous Whitehaven mines with undersea coal mining. There has been lots of greenwashing heaped on the plan by West Cumbria Mining to reopen Whitehaven coal mine, the most gaseous, dangerous pit in the Kingdom.  In 1815, Sir Humphrey Davy’s invention of the miner’s safety lamp was first tested in Whitehaven Coking Coal Mine because of its reputation for “firedamp” (methane) and fatal explosions.

That was in the pre-atomic age. Now in the same area, just eight kilometres away, we have the most dangerous nuclear site in the world: Sellafield. Windscale – later renamed Sellafield is too close to the proposed site.

What people are saying

“We are particularly concerned in regard to the potential impact upon the wider marine and coastal environment of the discharge of water into the sea, which has been pumped from the flooded anhydrite mine.” National Trust

“The application site is in proximity (Solway Firth 1.5km) to a European designated site (also commonly referred to as Natura 2000 sites), and therefore has the potential to affect its interest features.” Natural England

“The impact of any level of subsidence upon the terrestrial or marine heritage assets and designated sites and landscapes could be significant and permanent, therefore having a detrimental impact ..The history of contamination of watercourses in the areas raises concerns for some local residents in relation to the impact of the development on the complex hydrology of the area.” Colourful Coast Partnership

“Our position is to object to the proposed development on the grounds of the adverse impact on groundwater, surface water and biodiversity.” Environment Agency

“It is clear that this is a very large mine, with a very long life span…of 20-50 years and a peak of 2.8 million tonnes a year. Assuming a 40-year life (following construction), and an average of 2 million tonnes a year, that is a total production of 80 million tonnes, which will emit around 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The level of emissions and proposed life-time of the mine is of major concern….We would also query whether or not there has been robust enough analysis of the potential for seismicity (and subsidence) relating to well-known nuclear facilities in the wider area, including Sellafield and proposed new facility at Moorside? What potential is there for seismicity to effect these and other facilities (including the low level waste repository at Drigg) and the possible high level waste radioactive waste facility which has been proposed in West Cumbria for some time.” Friends of the Earth

“The application should be rejected because it is not in the national interest. From reviewing the documents submitted by West Cumbria Mining it is clear that the intention is to export the coal to Europe and Asia…The application to mine is too close to the Sellafield nuclear site and the proposal for another nuclear power station at Moorside. Underground mining can have a significant impact on the surrounding areas, recently a coking coal mine in Russia triggered an earthquake.” Coal Action Network

Test Drilling by West Cumbria Mining off St Bees

Fulmar – photo by Dorothy Bennett

Just some of the “Star Species” found in this Heritage Coast and Marine Conservation Zone are listed by the RSPB as: Fulmar, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Razorbill and so many more that would be impacted on by the plan for a new coal mine with possible subsidence of the Irish Sea bed impacting on food sources such as sandeels (and not to mention disturbing decades of Sellafield discharges which have settled there).

There are so many reasons to oppose this coal mine plan. That is why we are campaigning hard to stop the plan.

Take action

Specialist law firm, Leigh Day have agreed to help which is amazing.  So we are raising funds for the cost for counsel to provide a written Opinion on Potential Grounds for Judicial Review.  This is to ensure that we will still have a chance of stopping the coal mine plan should Cumbria County Council ignore the advice of Natural England, the National Trust, Coal Action Network, the Environment Agency, Colourful Coast Partnership, Friends of the Earth and others and rubberstamp the plan.  

People can get involved in many ways. You can write to the leader of Cumbria County Council and let him know you oppose the plan by West Cumbria Mining for the new Woodhouse Colliery (planning application number 4/17/9007).

Cumbria County Council is scheduled to be making a decision on the 24 of January, 2018.  The decision will be taken by the Development Control Committee.  Their contact details are here . The more letters they get the better. If you feel you can speak in opposition to the plan on the 24 of January then please do, whether as an individual or as a member of a group.  The meeting is open to public participation and you can register to speak by contacting Cumbria County Council.

We need to stop this diabolic plan for a new coal mine dangerously near Sellafield, if you can help in any way either by donation or by action then the better chance we have.

If you can help, you will be making history in the battle to stop the first deep coal mine in the UK for 30 years.  All donations no matter how small will be used directly to challenge West Cumbria Mining’s diabolic plan. Pledges can be made here

**********

ORIGINAL ARTICLE CAN BE READ HERE

Thank YOU for reaching over our half way mark in our CrowdJustice campaign!!  The Campaign goes from strength to strength and Tomorrow 28th Oct at 10.30am Campaigners to Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole will be gathering outside the Beacon Museum, Whitehaven to walk the challenging 7 miles to St Bees along the Colourful Coast.

"from the St Bees cliffs,  the only place in England where black guillemots nest, you can see the West Cumbria Mining drilling rig, turn to the left and there is Sellafield.  This is a bonkers plan, the only thing worse than opening up a new coal mine, is opening up a new coal mine in close proximity to Sellafield"  Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole

Campaigners invite others to join them tomorrow - either to stand with banners at the start of the walk to show resistance to West Cumbria Mining's plan or if people can do so for the whole walk.

https://keepcumbriancoalinthehole.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/a-walk-from-whitehaven-to-st-bees-to-keep-cumbrian-coal-in-the-hole/

Please join us on the 28th October as we Walk to Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole.  This is a challenging walk  and weather dependent.  (If the weather is really inclement we will still meet at the Beacon to walk and view the original coal pit entrances)

Whitehaven coastal walk to St Bees

This is a dramatic cliff-top walk.  We will be meeting at the Beacon Museum (now run by Sellafield) on Whitehaven’s historic 17th-century harbour.  The walk takes in the old Saltom Pit, the Haig Pit and the beautiful Fleswick Bay.

The cliffs of St Bees provide the only nesting site in England for the black guillemot. Although rarely seen, puffins are also believed to nest here.  This area was once teeming with wildlife.  In 2017 that wildlife is now much rarer, with many species being on the red list..what remains is so very important and mining for coal with (just for example) damage to hydrology, risk of subsidence and seismic activity is worse than vandalism.

Trail: Walking

Grade: Hard

Distance: 7 miles (11km)

Time: 4 hours

We will be meeting at 10.30 am  at the Beacon – we will leave no later than 11am after photos with our banners (foldable ones to put in rucksacks with picnic!)  to ensure we have plenty of time for the walk.  

Look forward to seeing you there