A much-anticipated decision on whether the UK’s first new deep coalmine in more than 30 years should go ahead has been delayed again.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) has written to Friends of the Earth to inform the organisation that the new secretary of state, Greg Clark, has set a new deadline of 8 November to rule on whether the coalmine should be granted planning permission.
The letter said: “This is a complex matter and officials are not yet in a position to complete their considerations prior to providing advice to ministers.”
An earlier July deadline was postponed until 17 August after Conservative MPs ousted Boris Johnson, the fallout of which resulted in the then levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, being sacked and a protracted leadership race being called. The decision is one of a number of major calls that are being delayed at present across a range of government departments, leading to opposition criticisms of a “zombie government” at No 10.
The controversial proposals to extract up to 2.7m tonnes of metallurgical coal a year from underneath the Irish Sea have stirred up strong local feeling within Cumbria and were subject to a public inquiry last September.
Supporters of the mine have criticised what they see as the latest delay to West Cumbria Mining’s (WCM) planned project that promises hundreds of jobs for west Cumbria.
The Copeland borough mayor, Mike Starkie, said in reaction to news of the delay: “It is outrageous and totally unacceptable. The inquiry was in November 2021 and the planning inspector submitted his report to government in April, it was in my opinion stretching it with no decision before July and should not have been extended to August.
“To now move the goalposts to November is appalling and there is no justification whatsoever. This is a dreadful way to treat private investors who are making a significant input (£160m) to levelling up the north.
“I call on both [Tory leadership contenders] Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to use their influence to bring this to a conclusion and the very least that should be done is the planning inspector’s report and recommendations should be made public immediately.”
Mark Jenkinson, the Conservative MP for Workington, also took aim at the government, saying: “The idea that the advice isn’t ready is for the birds. It was ready before 6 July when Michael Gove decided his final act would not be to approve the mine, and now they’re stringing Greg Clark along.
“LUHC ministers need to ask themselves: who is in charge? For too long, in excess of 30 years, officials have been allowed to run rings round elected members. Greg could start by publishing the planning inspector’s report today without comment, which would not jeopardise any advice or a future decision.”
Environmental campaigners argue there will be no market for the coking coal in Britain and Europe, as steelmakers move towards less carbon-intensive production methods.
“The case against this coalmine is overwhelming regardless of how many times the decision is delayed,” said Victoria Marsom, from Friends of the Earth.
“The UK and European market for coking coal is set to rapidly diminish as manufacturers switch to greener steel, while coal from this mine won’t replace Russian imports. However, this new mine will increase carbon emissions, with the government’s climate watchdog describing it as ‘absolutely indefensible’.”
The government’s Environmental Audit Committee is conducting an inquiry that looks at phasing out coal in Britain. Whitehall is also due to rule on whether to hand Tata Steel £1.5bn in decarbonisation funding that would help it switch to greater electric arc furnace use in its production lines. Tata Group has said its major Port Talbot plant may be forced to close if it does not receive the state aid.
Maggie Mason, from the South Lakes Action on Climate Change group, told the Guardian the delay was justified to ensure the decision was legally watertight. “I can understand the need for a delay. The coalmine proposal has over 100 planning conditions and several options to consider against planning policies.
“Current, and possibly new ministers after 5 September, need time and freedom from political interference to make their decision and write a detailed reasoned judgment that will withstand legal scrutiny.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “This is a quasi-judicial decision so it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”
WCM has been contacted for comment.
