An Australian owned coal mine company still have a chance of opening a new deep coal mine on the west coast of Cumbria. Please help us - finally - stop them.

Last September the UK High Court "quashed"  the planning consent for the mine,  but West Cumbria Mining's planning application still exists, and a fresh decision has to be made by the current government minister, Angela Rayner.

Her department has recently written to the mining company to invite them to submit more evidence.  As a key party in the previous Public Inquiry and the Legal Challenge that led to the High Court Hearing, our little charity has been invited to submit more information too.. 

We don't believe West Cumbria Mining should be left with an OPEN GOAL and are hoping that our generous donors will help us.

Our legal team are well on the way to a full submission to the Planning Inspectorate, setting out the key legal issues Angela Rayner should take into account and the information West Cumbria Mining needs to include in a new Environmental Statement.

Our initial target is just £5,000 this time, with a stretch target of £10,000.  Please share the link and donate if you can

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?  For starters, the UK should not be permitting a new coal mine in the year 2025 and (as the High Court recognised) this could send a signal to other countries that they too can justify new fossil fuel extraction on the basis that they are "net-zero. 

Second, the High Court's ruling on the coal mine was one of three key decisions requiring greenhouse gas emissions from the USE of a fossil fuel to be considered BEFORE the coal mine, or oil or gas well, is given permission. The HorseHill oil well, known as the "Finch" case, our coal mine, and the Rosebank oilfield.  Our piece of the new jigsaw is the need for any claims that the coal (or oil or gas) would simply replace , or substitute for, another mine or well that would reduce extraction by the same amount. MrJustice Holgate ruled that our current environmental regulation REQUIRES there to be evidence of such "net zero" claims.

"Our" court ruling overturned a decision by the last government, and the new government did not contest it. That does not mean they will refuse the Cumbria coal mine application this time round.

If West Cumbria Mining does try to regain its planning consent, Ms Rayner could re-open the Public Inquiry with a new Planning Inspector, or just make a decision behind closed doors. Important evidence and perspectives from our expert witnesses at the Inquiry could be brushed over, including significant changes in, for example, the UK steel industry's need for coal. 

The mining company's Net Zero assertions were more brazen than many fossil fuel companies. If West Cumbria Mining finds a consultant to help them with more subtle, yet misleading, "substitution" evidence and arguments, that must be open to public scrutiny and challenge. 

The Cumbria coal mine is a small but important part of an ongoing and global struggle to limit global temperature rises, and slow down the devastating increases in extreme events: storms, drought, heat, fire and flood; and in some places, extreme cold. 

We must, calmly and steadily, try to hold wealthy corporates and nations to account. 

Thank you so much for the financial support and encouragement you have provided already, and please help us take this next step in our journey.