Whitehaven coal mine: Planet or jobs debate reignited
I grew up in a coalfield area. It seems even after all these years strange that all forms of coal extraction might now be loaded with the depth of controversy set out here irrespective of what it might be used for. Not that I am in anyway a climate change denier. I just think it would be useful if we were able to consider the evidence and make a fact based judgement in an unemotive way.
Plans for a coal mine in Cumbria have turned into a global political row. The plan for the first deep mine in the UK for decades in Whitehaven was approved by Cumbria County Council in October 2020.
However, after an outcry from environmental campaigners including Greenpeace and Greta Thunberg, the council suspended its decision.
Now the government, which had previously decided not to intervene in the project has done just that and said a public inquiry must be held.
To complicate matters further, the company behind the mine, West Cumbria Mining (WCM), announced it was taking legal action against the council claiming its U-turn could not be “justified”.
Conservative MP for Workington Mark Jenkinson said he believes a lot of people oppose the idea because they do not understand the mine would produce coal for steel-making, not for power stations.