Blog – Page 5 – Coal Action Network

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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 […]

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Aidez à protéger Pont Valley! (In French)

28th April 2018 By coalaction

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 pas terminée à cette date, la permission d’ouvrir la mine […]

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General Statement from the Protectors of the Pont Valley

25th April 2018 By coalaction

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 Camp was enforced by Banks Group so they can build […]

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#AxeDrax AGM

25th April 2018 By coalaction

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 Station by train. Drax is the biggest consumer of coal […]

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Pont Valley Protection Camp Eviction

24th April 2018 By coalaction

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 locked into defences on the field where Banks Group wants […]

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Protected Newts found on proposed opencast mine site

17th April 2018 By coalaction

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 summer a licensed ecologist surveyed the site. Banks told the […]

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An incredible victory in an unlikely place

13th April 2018 By coalaction

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 vast opencast coal mine starting on its doorstep. This is […]