Opencast mine 'would be a disaster'
Campaigners have vowed to step up their fight against an opencast mine after learning a planning application has been submitted.
It emerged today that UK Coal's plans to mine 1.25 million tonnes of coal and 250,000 tonnes of fireclay at its 321-acre Minorca site, between Measham and Swepstone, are now with Leicestershire County Council.
Villagers reacted angrily when the scheme was first unveiled at a series of public exhibitions last October, and set up the Minorca Opencast Protest Group to lead the fight.
They say noise, dust and traffic from the site, off Gallows Lane, will blight the lives of thousands of people in the surrounding area and jeopardise their families' health.
Campaign chairman Steve Leary said: "UK Coal today informed us that they submitted their planning application for an opencast mine on the Minorca site on Friday.
"If the planning submission confirms the size of the working that has already been outlined, it will be one mile long by half a mile wide, within 50 metres of some houses and less than 500 metres from Measham Primary School."
He added: "This has been hanging over our heads for eight months but now's the time to step up our battle.
"The hard work starts now and we plan to mount an all-out campaign to oppose these plans which, in our view, would be a disaster for the area.
"Our immediate aim is to rally support and educate as many people in the area as possible about exactly is at stake here.
"We hope to deconstruct UK Coal's tenuous arguments over why they believe this mine is necessary and force a public inquiry into the application.
"We are supposed to be living in the National Forest and a regeneration area but if these plans are allowed to go ahead, it's our quality of life that will be thrown on the pit heap."
Local politicians, including MP David Taylor, have pledged their support for the residents' campaign.
Measham district councillor Jason Summerfield said: "Now the plans are in, it at least gives us a chance to formally object and argue our case against the mine to the county council.
"This is a scheme people in the area vehemently oppose."
UK Coal has said it would extract coal and clay for three years before turning the area into a country park.
A similar plan was turned down by Leicestershire County Council in 1995.
UK Coal spokesman Stuart Oliver said the mine was necessary to help reduce the country's reliance on imported energy supplies.
He said: "We have submitted our planning application to Leicestershire County Council but the planning document will not be available to the public until it is formally validated, which could take up to a week."
A spokesman for Leicestershire County Council said residents would be given a chance to have their say when the document was published.
It will be available online and hard copies will also be sent to Measham Library, parish councils and the action group.
For more information, visit www.mopg.co.uk.
7 Comments
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by Brendon, Bushby
Wednesday, July 08 2009, 12:33PM
“More Nimby's.....”
by Steve, Measham
Wednesday, July 08 2009, 8:55AM
“Little has been said by your respondents on the impact this will have on local people. Here we have a plan to extract 1.25m tonnes of coal that will keep Ratcliffe Power station going for 65 days. In exchange we get an industrial site in a rural area that will take 20 years to regenerate. If people out there think this is a good deal for local people then lets hear the arguments!”
by Brendon, Bushby
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 2:45PM
“Grahame - I take your point. But the fact remains that whether we mine this coal in our area or import it we are still going to impact on Carbon release. Mining it locally will have a vast reduction in the Co2 used to transport it around the world. So, locally produced coal will be better in the long run.”
by Brendon, Bushby
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 2:32PM
“I say let it happen. As Fred has stated the country was up in arms when the Tory government closed down the mines in this area. At the moment the bulk of our imported coal into the UK comes from Russia, Colombia, USA, ... over 275000 tonnes of material each year. Surely it would be more benificial for the UK and the proposed area if the money involved in the purchase and transportation of this fuel was utilised on the reduction of unemployment in the surrounding area. This will have a benificial impact on house sales and be a welcome increase for the local small business'. It will also, at the end of its life be a much needed point for the disposal of our waste when it becomes a landfill. I take it the local residents of Measham and Swepstone do produce waste? It has to go somewhere!!!”
by Grahame Jordan, Walcote, Leics.
Tuesday, July 07 2009, 2:25PM
“All fossil fuels increase atmospheric CO2, Earth's carbon is locked underground = clean air; Venus has it's carbon in the atmosphere = 400 degrees C and thick dense acidic clouds.
Do you need any other reason to realise the danger?”