Blog – Coal Action Network

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16th June 2018 By coalaction

Diversity in the ecological sense is treasured. On a global scale conservationists focus a lot of their time and resources on the protection of the most diverse ecosystems if we are talking land the most diverse area is a tropical rainforest and a fuss is made about deforestation. Conservationists are actually right to make a […]

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Urgent: Write to the Secretary of State asking him to stop Bradley opencast

9th June 2018 By coalaction

Can you help the Campaign to Protect Pont Valley? We are asking that you email James Brokenshire, the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government and ask him to stop the Bradley opencast. A template letter is below. The email address is james.brokenshire@communities.gsi.gov.uk please copy in jake.berry@communities.gsi.gov.uk, or you can write to Ministry […]

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*** ONLINE PROTECTORS, WE NEED YOU ***

31st May 2018 By coalaction

*** ONLINE PROTECTORS, WE NEED YOU NOW *** Rainton and Tynedale Roadstones, part of MGL Group, are in the process of tarmacking the access road for the opencast site. Although Banks Group have contracted the MGL Group it is unlikely that they are fully aware of the nature of the site and the public feeling […]

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Protect Pont Valley: What we’ve done and what you can do

31st May 2018 By coalaction

Tracy Gillman, a local resident and campaigner, put together this potted history of the 30 year community struggle against opencast at Pont Valley (near Dipton and Leadgate in County Durham). The local community have been fighting applications on this site for 50 years. The first application was approved but overturned by the then Secretary of […]

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Residents and Durham Miners Association reject Banks’ opencast plans

19th May 2018 By coalaction

Today Bank’s Group said that it “formally commenced mining operations at their new Bradley surface mine.” Suggesting that planning permission has been triggered. Local residents saw that Banks Group started working this morning in Brooms Pond which is a nature conservation value at County level, qualifying as Pond Biodiversity Action Plan. Campaigners have been racing […]

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UK’s major campaign groups unite against Bradley opencast

18th May 2018 By coalaction

Campaign groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and 38 Degrees have challenged the recently appointed Secretary of State for Communities, James Brokenshire, to ‘act urgently to secure this government’s position as a world leader in phasing out coal’, by revoking the permit for an opencast coal mine set to go ahead in the […]

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Local residents take direct action against new opencast

15th May 2018 By coalaction

Local residents block potential opencast coal site risking arrest to protect their community This morning (15/05/18) two Durham residents living just 300m from the controversial Bradley opencast coal extraction, blocked the gates to the work site for three hours, before being dangerously moved by the police. Banks Group is trying to complete an access road […]

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Saturday demos at the Pont Valley

11th May 2018 By coalaction

The Campaign to Protect Pont Valley is still going strong. Despite their best efforts Banks Group has not finished the preparation which triggers planning permission. Everything is still to play for. Please come to one of the up coming community demonstrations. On Saturday 5th May the community demonstration was also direct action as no work […]

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Protected species ‘likely’ on opencast site – Natural England

4th May 2018 By coalaction

We’ve been supporting the Campaign to Protect Pont Valley by trying to get local authorities to step in to stop the wildlife crime occurring – the destruction of Great Crested Newt habitats which is already occurring as preparatory work gets underway. By now you’ve all seen our lovely picture of Carol the newt that was […]

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Slow Death in Siberia

3rd May 2018 By coalaction

Coal production around the world is falling. In the UK we have just seen three full days where no electricity was generated by coal, the longest period since the 1880s. Yet in Russia extraction of coal is increasing. Russia is the main country importing coal to the UK, supplying 49%. This increase most affects the […]