MP wants law to protect communities from mines
An MP is trying to bring in a new English law that would see a statutory 500 metre "buffer zone" between opencast mines and people's homes.
Andrew Bridgen, the new North West Leicestershire MP, won a rare chance earlier last month to create his own proposal for a new Bill, and now plans to use that chance to bring in the planning change.
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Andrew Bridgen
He said he was inspired after speaking to constituents about their fight against opencast mines.
He has pledged to contest plans by UK Coal to mine 1.5 million tonnes of coal and fireclay at its former Minorca colliery site, near Measham.
He said: "Under current planning guidelines residents in Scotland and Wales can have some protection against an application for an opencast mine.
"There must be a 500m buffer zone between any residential property and the mine, but it's not the same in England. I'm not seeking to stop opencast mining all together, but it shouldn't be to the detriment of local residents."
After presenting his Bill in Parliament yesterday Mr Bridgen will have the summer to work on the detail, with a full Commons debate next February.
Normally the Government proposes laws – known as Public Bills – which are then debated, voted on and passed by Parliament.
But during each new session some MPs are chosen at random to propose a law of their own choosing – known as a Private Member's Bill.
Many of these Bills do not make it through the legislative process, as they lack the support of party leaders. But the ideas can be taken on by Government if they prove to be popular or successful during Commons debates.
Mr Bridgen said: "This is a longer Parliamentary session than usual so I'm hoping there will be time to try and get this Bill through."
Measham pensioner Phil Owen, 67, said: "With our homes being so close to the proposed mine this Bill gives us renewed hope. I think it's wonderful a guy who has just taken up his post as MP can propose this new legislation like this.
"David Taylor was a staunch supporter of our cause and Andrew is picking up where he left off.
"With Wales and Scotland having the 500m buffer it makes us here in England feel like second-class citizens. It's only fair."
The Minorca Opencast Protest Group says English planning guidance does not give communities the same protection as communities in Scotland and Wales.
Spokesman Steve Leary welcomed Mr Bridgen's intervention.
He said: "I am overjoyed.
"His action will bring a national focus to an issue that does not just affect people living in Leicestershire.
"People living in many other counties in England will also be delighted that at last someone is going to take action to right an injustice that affects so many.
"We know there is a long way to go yet to get this Bill passed, and our own application may have been decided on before we know whether Andrew's Bill has a chance of becoming law.''
3 Comments
by Ian Wood, Measham, NW Leicestershire
Friday, July 02 2010, 9:48PM
“Mr Bridgen THANK YOU so much for taking up this fight with us. As someone who lives within 300 metres of the proposed minorca site this new law cannot come quickly enough. If we enjoyed a 500m buffer zone like Scotland and Wales the Minorca site would be totally out of bounds for UK Coal. Unfortunately the Minorca site may be decided upon before this law can be introduced but we must still fight for it to protect other communities in future from the blight of UK Coal Plc.”
by Arthur Brown, Amber Valley
Thursday, July 01 2010, 12:07PM
“This is finally a little good news for many, many communities facing an onslaught of opencast mining applications from an industry given free-reign by the utter cave-in to big business by the previous Labour Government. The stress that these applications bring, along with the misery of having to live with the impacts cannot be overstated. Whilst 500 metres is actually nothing like the distance needed to mitigate the plethora of negative impacts, it is a start. To imply that somehow the same opencast techniques in England have a different impact in Wales and Scotland where a buffer zone is required is both ridiculous and indefensible ¿ all sites supposedly operate to substantially identical environmental standards. The only difference is that a 500-metre buffer zone in England would seriously curtail the English opencast industry ¿ and so it should; applying different standards in England is due to industry pressure, nothing more, and continuing Government support for this inequity is immoral. The impacts of opencast mining are identical whichever side of the border a community is. I live within 1km of an operational site, and that has been nowhere near enough to mitigate the daily negative impacts ¿ even if you can stomach the revolting destruction of a shrinking countryside which has already played its part in providing the nation¿s coal many times over.”
by Arthur Brown, Amber Valley
Thursday, July 01 2010, 12:06PM
“This is finally a little good news for many, many communities facing an onslaught of opencast mining applications from an industry given free-reign by the utter cave-in to big business by the previous Labour Government. The stress that these applications bring, along with the misery of having to live with the impacts cannot be overstated. Whilst 500 metres is actually nothing like the distance needed to mitigate the plethora of negative impacts, it is a start. To imply that somehow the same opencast techniques in England have a different impact in Wales and Scotland where a buffer zone is required is both ridiculous and indefensible ¿ all sites supposedly operate to substantially identical environmental standards. The only difference is that a 500-metre buffer zone in England would seriously curtail the English opencast industry ¿ and so it should; applying different standards in England is due to industry pressure, nothing more, and continuing Government support for this inequity is immoral. The impacts of opencast mining are identical whichever side of the border a community is. I live within 1km of an operational site, and that has been nowhere near enough to mitigate the daily negative impacts ¿ even if you can stomach the revolting destruction of a shrinking countryside which has already played its part in providing the nation¿s coal many times over.”