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…

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…

La vallée anglaise est menacée par l’ouverture prochaine d’une mine de charbon à ciel ouvert, nocive pour le climat et mettant en danger une espèce protégée de triton. Mais tout n’est pas perdu: si la route d’accès qui doit être construite jusqu’au 3 juin n’est…

This is a shared statement from the protectors of the Pont Valley detailing our experiences of the eviction and the dangerous and abusive behaviour we experienced and witnessed from the enforcement officers, police, and Banks Group employees. The April 19th-20th eviction of Pont Valley Protection…

Forest, coal and environmental justice activists gathered outside Drax Plc’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in York today(25/04/18). There was a simultaneous protest in Liverpool, where biomass wood pellets arrive at Peel Port from the southern US before being taken to be burnt at Drax Power…

Early in the morning of the 19th April bailiffs acting on behalf of Banks Group along with police and Durham Council workers arrived at the Pont Valley Protection Camp. They thought they could clear our camps by lunchtime, but it took three days. Ten people…

This morning (17/04/18) a European Protected Great Crested Newt was found on the land where Banks Group plans to start a new opencast coal extraction in the next seven weeks. Banks Group have claimed that there are no newts on the site and that last…

A pretty rural village, Mencherep, lies beside a lake in the Kuzbass region of Russia. It is the site of a great victory against a foe which has been consuming this area and its people for decades. The village has just been saved from a…

This morning (10/03/18) Secretary of State for Communities, Sajid Javid and his colleagues were greeted with a life-size statue depicting the Secretary of State ‘turning a blind eye’ to the imminent expansion of opencast coal mining in the UK. The statue’s creators, Art Rise Up,…

Living on the protection camp, against a new opencast coal extraction is thrilling. Everyday new people turn up and bring new insights, food, camp supplies and energy to the camp. There is a constant stream of media enquiries, beeps of support and work to be…

The planning inspectorate has refused planning permission to Provectus who applied to mine at Hilltop, very close to homes at Old Tupton, Claycross and Holmgate! Monday’s (5th March) excellent news was welcomed by local campaigners and people across the country who are resisting fossil fuels…

UPDATE: The camp has moved again, details to follow. Do you want to help us to protect a beautiful valley, heritage mine workings, support a local community and stop fossil fuel extraction? On Friday 2nd March the Pont Valley Protection Camp was set up almost…

Public outcry at imminent new opencast coal mines amid ‘coal phase-out’ Today, residents of County Durham brought a 86,000 signature petition to Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to demand that he uses his powers under the Town and Country…

For Immediate Release 27.02.2018 Protesters scale trees in sub-zero temperatures in bid to stop Bradley opencast Interviews (local residents): Drummond Orr 07788660738 | Patrick Carr 07812949420 Photo requests 07980543654 Photo opportunity: A692 between Dipton and Leadgate (junction A693/A692, Brooms Road Ends) from 7am. Today 13…

Today I got to visit for the first time the beautiful place, called Bradley by Banks mining company,  that lies to the south west edge of the village of Dipton. Snow fell, feet frozen, we got down on our knees to meet some of the…

Earlier this week (13/02/18) 25 residents from County Durham, Pont Valley Network, Derwent Valley Protection Society, and the Burnopfield Environmental Awareness Movement and Coal Action Network appealed to Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in a letter [Download letter]  urging him…

Two new opencast coal mines in northern England could begin work this spring, unless the government decides to intervene, despite recent affirmations that the UK will end coal use for electricity by 2025. This year, following the UK governments joint launch of the ‘Powering Past…

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