County Matters
Reflections upon Opencast Mining
by Eric Lee
The French have a saying “the more things change the more they stay the same” which seems to neatly sum up the effect of the successive changes made by Government to the Minerals Planning Guidelines over the past twenty or more years. Responding to public pressure, successive revisions of the MPG3 tightened the criteria for approval. Ostensibly, the current guidelines issued in 1999, with its declared presumption against opencast working, unless applicants can show that it would be in the national interest for a particular site to be worked, are the toughest hurdle yet for Coal Producers to jump. Sadly, although the words have changed the outcomes have not. A BBC Panorama documentary broadcast in December 1998* shows that the number of Appeals allowed by the Secretary of State has been steadily increasing over recent years. The Government has covertly changed the application of its rules in a way which favours the Coal Operators, undermines the authority of local government and leaves the ratepayers bearing the cost of the appeals.
On the face of it, this suggests that the time and effort which numerous community organisations and individuals have spent in their attempt to reign in the seemingly unbridled demands of the Coal Producers, has been in vain. Fortunately, this is not the case. Their pressure upon the Government to tighten the guidelines has, over the years, resulted in gradual improvements to the management and supervision of working sites and in their ultimate restoration. Now it is time for environmental and local groups to insist that the Government clarify the way in which they intend to interpret their own guidelines or have the courage to amend them and face up to the resultant backlash. Failure to do so will turn back the clock to the days when the Government was the sole arbiter of opencast applications.
Those continuing the fight against the future expansion of opencast operations have further obstacles ahead of them. Electricity generation has become increasingly dependent upon coal, whilst environmental considerations seek to reduce the carbon dioxide it produces. Carbon capture and storage is being seen as the way forward but the downside to that proposal is the colossal amount of electricity consumed by the compression of the gas and its subsequent pumping to the final storage areas. Figures as high as 40% of the output of a power station have been quoted for the process, but the provenance of that figure is not known. The current financial situation is also likely to favour locally produced coal over imports.
As I write, the formal application to opencast at Whittonstall is still awaited. This beautiful area of Northumberland is about to come under threat and I wish my successor on the County Committee the very best of luck in their efforts the integrate the opposition of the N & N Society with that of the local community, the CPRE and other groups opposed to the application. May they all wield their cudgels to good effect!
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to my fellow members on the County Committee for the unstinting support which they have given to me over the years and I wish them well in their continuing efforts to preserve and increase the beauty of Northumberland.
City and County
May 2010
Footer photo by Ian Britton. http://www.freefoto.com/preview/?ffid=13-11-5
