Plans for an £160 million coal mine off the coast of Whitehaven has been approved by the Government.
Michael Gove, Levelling Up Minister, has announced that following a lengthy planning inquiry, permission has been granted for the mine.
West Cumbria Mining is behind the plans and the coal will be used for steel production.
A Government spokesman said: “The Secretary of State has agreed to grant planning permission for a new metallurgical coal mine in Cumbria as recommended by the independent planning inspector.
“This coal will be used for the production of steel and would otherwise need to be imported. It will not be used for power generation.
“The mine seeks to be net zero in its operations and is expected to contribute to local employment and the wider economy.
“The reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision are set out in full in his published letter, alongside the report of the independent planning inspector who oversaw the inquiry into the proposal.”
Protestors against the mine say it would undermine the UK’s commitment to climate change targets but supporters say it will create jobs in the area and reduce the need to import coal.
Mr Gove’s announcement today comes after the Government delayed its decision three times. In a statement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, it said the Government’s commitment to phasing out coal power by 2024 remained in place, but its strategy did not rule out the use of coking coal in the steel process.
It added that construction and operation of the mine is still subject to the developer obtaining the outstanding permissions and licences.
A planning inquiry was held in September 2021 when then Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick called in the plans – after they had been considered three times by Cumbria Council and after he said it was a local matter – for scrutiny.
Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change oppose the mine because they say it does not fit with the strategic aims of the Government to combat climate change.
Supporters say the mine will create 500 direct jobs and 1,500 jobs in the supply chain, plus the mine would produce coking coal – integral for the steel-making process.
West Cumbria Mining submitted its first planning application to Cumbria County Council in 2017. In February last year, the authority reconsidered its decision to give the project the green light in 2020 due to information received by the Government about its stance on climate change.
Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, has been a long-time outspoken critic of the mine. He said: “This decision cancels out all the progress Britain has made on renewable energy. The Government’s environmental credentials are yet again left in tatters.
“Rishi Sunak’s Government is trashing our country’s reputation as a world lead in cutting emissions. He does not represent the views of the public who want green, clean projects.
“After being dragged kicking and screaming to permit more on-shore wind they’ve now lost all their goodwill by allowing this deeply damaging coal mine.
“Liberal Democrats have long called for this project to be cancelled and we hope the Government will reverse their decision.”
Trudy Harrison, Copeland MP, said: “I have consistently made the case for Woodhouse Colliery. Coking coal is a critical raw material which will be required for the European steel industry for decades.
“West Cumbria Mining’s Woodhouse Colliery will be the cleanest, greenest method of extracting coking coal. Blissfully ignorant continuation of the present situation – supporting awful working conditions, worse environmental standards for which we have no control and thousands of miles of fossil fuelled rail, road and ocean transportation – is war grade hypocrisy.
“Every part of our plan for a green industrial revolution needs steel, most of the world’s steel production needs coking coal. That’s the reality – Woodhouse Colliery is a solution for the medium term and is part of the transition. And the independent Planning Inspectorate agrees.”
