Blog Archive Archive - Page 4 of 11 - Coal Action Network

The Secretary of State agreed to remake a decision regarding the revocation of planning permission for extraction of coal by opencast methods at the Bradley site in the Pont Valley, Durham, by the 25^th February 2019. The department agreed that its original decision making process was “flawed” and so it would remake the decision.

No decision has been announced and so the lawyers acting for June Davison, the local resident bringing the Judicial Review, are filling documents to the High Court to re-open the case and push for a new decision, with reasons, by the 27^th March.

“We are still hopeful for a positive result, that James Brokenshire will do the right thing by this community and by the global community by ending fossil fuel and opencast coal extraction as soon as possible” says Tracy Gillman who lives 300m from the site.

In July 2017 the Secretary of State’s refused to revoke planning permission, but it failed to fully consider the evidence provided. The Judicial Review was then launched as no reasons were given. The opencast extraction began in May 2018. The Secretary of State was first asked to intervene in February 2018.

Meanwhile the Secretary of State is also reconsidering the application by Banks Group to extract coal by opencast methods close to Druridge Bay. This decision was expected on or by the 21^st April, but this has been delayed until the 20^th May following Banks Group adding more material for consideration. This application is to extract 3 million tonnes of coal.

Banks Group has recently submitted planning document to Newcastle County Council for a new opencast on the outskirts of the city. Banks has also said that it plans to request permission to extend the Bradley site.

Campaigners argue that coal needs to be left in the ground at both of these sites and for further opencast extraction of coal to be prevented by Government to reduce the worst affects of global climate change as well as to protect local environments and residents.

Banks Group announced on Monday that they wish to extend the planning application at the Bradley opencast site, in County Durham. This announcement came on the same day that James Brokenshire was due to announce whether he would revoke the planning permission for this opencast mine.

Local resident Liam Carr “We always feared this day would come. Once again Banks have shown contempt for the views of residents and a complete disregard for our local environment. This was a controversial development from the start. Durham County Council must recognise this and look very carefully at any application to extend mine further into the countryside”

That Banks are arrogantly pursuing these new plans while the communities secretary considered the original planning application is another example of their behaviour. This extension is flying in the face of public opinion. It is really clear that people in that area do not want an opencast coal mine, never mind an extension to it. Their commitment to protecting the local area and reducing climate change should be celebrated and followed by all public officials involved in decision making on this case.

Banks Group is looking to extract 800,000 tonnes of coal from Dewley Hill, on the outskirts of Newcastle.

On 20th February Banks announced they planned to submit an application imminently to Newcastle City Council.

The main information we have so far is from a preliminary planning notice was entered to Newcastle Council (this is the first part of the formal application). There has been some archaeological surveying done on the site in 2018.

Proposed operating hours 7am to 10pm, (longer than on some sites eg. Bradley in the Pont Valley).

Site access: B6323, Ponteland Road, lorries are expected to travel East on the A69 when leaving

So far only a scoping report has been submitted to the council. This is the preliminary notification containing the information on the broad plans and the further surveys required to submit a planning application. This was submitted in 2016, when the intention was to commence in 2018.

The exact layout of the opencast proposed is not known as it is not listed in the scoping report. The area on this map is the area to be studied for archeological sites, ecology etc, the opencast will not be larger, but it could take up a smaller area.

Two previous planning applications for this site were rejected; one in 1994 and one in 1999, which was rejected on appeal.

There has previously been opencast and deep mining on this site, but at present it is green belt land made up of green fields, with wet areas and hedges. There are plans to turn nearby land into residential areas, the boundary of one of these areas, Lower Callerton, would border the proposed opencast site. The National Planning Policy Framework, the legislation which controls planning permits, says that in very special circumstances only can green belt be built on, opencast coal extraction can be accepted.

The application site is 8km West of Newcastle to the North of A69 and south of the B6324, Stamfordham Road. The B6324 is a busy road, particularly at rush hour. The site is on the Newcastle/ Northumberland border. Callerton is 885m away, North Walbottle 900m away, Darras Hall 1.3km away; Throckley 500m and Heddon on the wall is 2.2km away.

Public footpaths cross the site. The nearest houses, Callerton Lane End Cottages 150m north of the site.

Extensions are likely given that Banks say that, “ a large resource may be available on land surrounding the proposed site boundary,”¹

Banks claim that extracting the coal from this site prevents a risk of “secondary sterilisation”. This means the company is concerned that housing developments going ahead nearby would mean that planning is never given for opencasting on this site, so Banks wanted to opencast the land before the houses were built.

Dewley Hill Tumulus a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Dewley Law a glacial cairn and also a Scheduled Ancient Monument lie close to the site.

There are lots of post medieval mine shafts on the site that are of archaeological interest. Historic colliery waggonways are present on the site.

Banks say that it would transfer staff from its other sites covering most of the professed 50 jobs. Banks have exaggerated claims of job creation on other sites, such as Rusha where the planning application said there would be up to 57 jobs, in reality there were only at most 39.²

Banks says that it has enhanced an adjacent former opencast so now there are otter in the Dewley burn. Banks’ preliminary report say that there are two otter holts on the site, one of which they say is “likely disused”. Water vole are also possibly in residence.

The site provides habitats for linnet, Northern lapwing, short-eared owl, skylark, song thrush, redwing, starling, tree sparrow, blue tit and yellow hammer.

Environmental surveys would need to be completed before a full planning application can be submitted.

Fire clay could go to brick works in Throckley from the site. Sandstone could potentially also be extracted.

Some areas of the site were historically opencast. As a result Crescent farm and Fell House Farm have weak/average ecological value.

Banks say, “the potential to create air quality effects”. The mounds of earth created to screen coal sites create dust from blown off soil when they are created and removed, coal dust from blasting lands nearby, diesel vehicles on site and increased lorry movements damage air quality.

Banks say it will use measures to improve air quality, such as, keeping operational areas damp with the use of mobile water bowsers and only tipping loose material when the correct conditions prevail (ie. Avoiding dry windy conditions).

There have been occasions where this hasn’t happened at Bradley in the Pont Valley.

Banks acknowledges that previous surface mining has the potential to impact upon soil quality.

Catchment area for Ouseburn and Dewley Burn are on the site. Contamination of watercourses could affect the rivers these tributaries feed into. Watercourses exist on site.

Worried about this project? Get in touch with Coal Action Network @CoalActionUK or info@coalaction.org.uk

We were part of a vibrant campaign against Banks’ opencast in Durham and have successfully stopped new opencast extractions across the country. There is plenty that can be done to prevent Banks Group from destroying this area.

Campaigners say it is an opportunity to consign opencast coal extraction ‘to the history books’

Cross posted from Ecologist Magazine. By Isobel Tarr, Coal Action Network.

The decision to allow the Bradley opencast coal site in Pont Valley, County Durham, which began operating in 2018, is to be reconsidered by James Brokenshire, the communities secretary.

A judicial review brought by local residents today forced the secretary of state to agree to revisit the decision. His department admits that ‘a flaw in the decision-making process’ had resulted in the refusal to revoke the mining company’s permit last summer, enabling them to begin extracting 500,000 tonnes of coal.

Opencast coal extraction involves stripping large areas of topsoil and subsoil to extract vast quantities of coal using heavy machinery and dynamite. It is far more destructive to the local environment than traditional mining which it came to replace.

Fighting back

June Davison, who lives near the Bradley site, said: “As a result of the government’s flawed decision, we have watched from our homes as a much-loved habitat has been ripped apart, and we have suffered coal dust and noise 12 hours a day.

“Within weeks explosions will begin just 500 metres from our homes as they blast away the earth in preparation for destroying a whole new section of the valley for coal, unless the government acts.

“The Secretary of State can’t repair the damage that has been done here but the least he can do is stop it getting worse. We are fighting back for what remains of the wildlife in the Pont Valley, for the climate and for the health of our community.’

Climate change

This comes as the decision on whether to approve another opencast coal site, Druridge Bay in Northumberland, was handed back to the Secretary of State on Friday.

The department admitted that it failed to take into account campaigners’ and lawyers’ letters which had raised comparisons between Bradley and the proposed Druridge Bay opencasts; the latter was refused in 2018 on the grounds of climate change and damage to the local landscape and community.

In reference to Bradley, the department concluded “the matter needs to be reconsidered by the secretary of state on the proper basis“

Tony Bosworth, campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “The world’s leading climate scientists have made it clear that we need to act fast to avoid climate chaos.

“Coal is one of the dirtiest fossil fuels and it belongs in the history books, not in an energy system for the 21st century. Our energy future must be based on energy saving and renewable energy, not on more fossil fuels.”

Opencast coal

The company behind both projects is Banks Group, which is also seeking an extension to another opencast mine, “Shotton” in Northumberland, and is investigating a new site for coal extraction near of Newcastle. Banks Group is the only company in the UK which is looking to open new opencast coal sites.

Banks Group is also awaiting a court trial for wildlife crimes, as residents claim the company failed to relocate protected species off the Bradley site before the mine started.

The end of coal…?

Anne Harris, of the Coal Action Network, said: ‘The government should seize this opportunity to end the dirty industry of opencast coal extraction for good. Supporting either Bradley or Druridge Bay would be inconsistent with their promise to end coal use in power stations by 2025.’

But what would the end of coal mean in County Durham, where the deep-pit mines used to provide work for whole communities?

Liam Carr, local resident, said: “Most families around here would have dads or granddads who worked down the pit, but opencast coal does not provide the job opportunities that deep mining once did.

“The government should look again at revoking permission at Bradley and look very closely at any new opencast coal mine applications. This region was built on coal, we are rightly proud of our past. Coal is our heritage, not our future.”

This Author

Isobel Tarr is a Campaigner & Community Organiser with Coal Action Network, @CoalActionUK.

A judge at Peterlee Magistrates Court on Wednesday 12th December heard the case against Banks’ Group for alleged wildlife crimes in the Pont Valley. The case will go to a full hearing on 11th February 2019 at Teesside Magistrate Courts.

Banks Group, who failed to attend the hearing today, is accused of wildlife crimes for allegedly destroying the breeding and resting places of protected Great Crested Newts on the controversial Bradley opencast coal site in County Durham. [1]

Judge Helen Cousins entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Banks Group today. The company said they were not aware of the summons to appear before the judge. Judge concluded that the summons had been properly served and that Bank’s solicitor had ‘manipulated the court process’.

“By not showing up today Banks Mining Group have shown their ongoing contempt for community concerns and the environment” said Jackie Scollen from Campaign to Protect Pont Valley

This hearing comes weeks after a High Court decision backing Banks Groups’ appeal to start another opencast mine at Druridge Bay in Northumberland.

Great Crested Newts are a European Protected Species which means destroying their breeding and resting places is a criminal offence.

In August, a trial of Pont Valley protesters heard Judge Cousins at Teesside Magistrates Court express doubt over the legality of the actions of Banks Group; “I cannot be satisfied to the criminal standard that Banks would not have committed, be committing, or be about to commit an offence contrary to the Conservation and Habitat of Species Regulations,” [2] During the case Great Crested Newt Mitigation Guidelines were examined. Judge Cousins said, “There is no doubt in my mind that those standards were not followed”. [3]

Don Kent, from the Campaign to Protect Pont Valley says: “It’s a very important and fundamental part of our society that the wealthy, both companies and individuals, are not able to escape their obligations under the law.”

Campaign to Protect Pont Valley is currently crowdfunding to raise the money to support individuals in the community affected by the opencast to pursue their case.

Great Crested Newts are a European Protected Species which means destroying their breeding and resting places is a criminal offence under regulation 43 of The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

[1] Bradley opencast coal site lies adjacent to the A692 between the villages of Dipton and Leadgate, Durham. Planning permission was granted in June 2015 but no work started until February 2018 at which point the land where the access road had to be built was occupied for over six weeks. On the 19^th April 2018 the camp was evicted with seven people arrested.

[2] In August five people were acquitted of aggravated trespass for trying to prevent work starting on the site, the case was dropped against two others. Banks Group and the prosecution could not convince the Judge it was acting legally with regards to the habitat of Great Crested Newts. [Teesside Magistrates Court. R v Tobias Munnion et al. Judgement of District Judge (Magistrates Court) Helen Cousins 06/08/18]

[3] “I have read carefully English Nature 2001. Great Crested Newt Mitigation Guidelines. English Nature, Peterborough. ISBN 1 85716 568 3 in particular pages 23-25, and I note the Survey standards on page 26.

[4] “Considering the status of the population, it is expected that Temporary Amphibian Fencing would be installed up to 250m from the wetland area and 25 days trapping required to clear the site;” Natural England email to Banks Group (13/06/18). All of the area where the access road now lies is within 250m of Brooms Pond. Banks Group failed to complete the access road by this deadline as required by the s106 agreement, but Durham County Council refused to hold the company to the contract. https://www.desmog.co.uk/2018/07/02/investigation-has-banks-group-prematurely-started-work-uk-s-newest-coal-mine

Today Judge Harrison found eight people guilty of six accounts of obstruction of the public highway and two accounts of obstruction of a police officer. All were fined and told to pay a victim surcharge varying by income level, plus court costs of £400 each.

Judge Harrison dismissed the motivations of all of the defendants. She said she believed that their beliefs were strongly held but said that the reasons for their actions were not relevant to the legality of their behaviour. The trial itself was heard at the end of October.

Robyn Clogg who lives within 300m of the opencast said, “I wrote to the council, I signed petitions, I wrote to Banks Mining Group, I demonstrated at the side of the road and supported the protest camp. I wasn’t left with any other avenue to stop this destruction but putting myself physically in the way.”

The convictions relate to four different occasions where concerned people took action to delay the completion of the access road to the opencast site. Its completion was supposed to happen before coal extraction could begin, as per the legally binding Section 106 agreement. By the time the planning permisision should have lapsed on the 4th June 2018 the road was not complete, nor about to be for several weeks. The Section 106 agreements document was used by Durham County Council during the two appeal inquiries in an attempt to pacify local people, who have expressed opposition to the opencast for over thirty years, that the conditions would protect them. The Council acknowledge that the agreement was broken but refuses to take enforcement action against the company.

“Banks Group are involved in a wildlife crime which needs to be stopped. The presence of Great Crested Newts in Brooms Pond, now destroyed, has long been included in the discussions why this opencast should never have been started and they were still present on the site, our actions were to protect them. I used to live in Durham, I have been involved in the planning meetings, I was an interested party in the planning appeal, I’ve signed petitions, emailed the council, written to my MP. Before now, everything I have done was part of the legal process and hasn’t achieved anything. A wildlife crime is being committed and planning agreements were being broken. If you see a mugging holding a sign won’t do anything, sometimes you have to physically intervene, you have to stop it,”
one of the people said in the dock who was sentenced today.

Banks Group failed to construct the access road prior to soil stripping, yet the council ignored the conditions on the coal company created to protect local people. Durham County Council is unable to keep the coal company in check. People who cared about the diverse, well used and beautiful area were left without an option but to take matters into their own hands and risk criminal records in order to try and protect the natural world.

It was a first offence for almost all of the people who were convicted. Additionally restraining orders were given, preventing those who were found guilty from entering the Bradley (Pont Valley) opencast or impeding the entrance to the site for twelve months.

In delivering her verdict the Judge said, “during the course of the trial I’ve permitted myself a wry smile, it was historically interesting that in the mid 1980s another group with strongly held beliefs similarly demonstrated and found themselves in front of the courts.” She clearly doesn’t know that Durham Miners Association stands with Campaign to Protect Pont Valley in its opposition to the Bradley opencast. Those who took this stand are aware of the actions of their grandfathers and have sufficient experience of the horrors of opencast coal mining to know that this devastation is not in the interest of the communities living close to the opencast and goes against the strong messages we are getting from the IPCC about the urgency of climate change.

An earlier group of people were all acquitted of charges of aggravated trespass by Judge Cousins also of Middlesbrough Court, as the Crown Prosecution Service and Banks Group failed to show that the coal company was not breaking the law, in destroying the breeding pond of protected Great Crested Newts. Perversely given their innocence, they were given restraining orders excluding them from being within 300m of all Banks mining sites. Some of those sentenced today live within 300m of the site boundary.

Following from this first case, and using evidence based on it the Campaign to Protect Pont Valley are bringing a private prosecution against Banks Group for breaking regulation 43 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. The first hearing will be the 12th December.

Campaign to Protect Pont Valley has launched a private prosecution against Banks Group for destroying the breeding and resting places of protected Great Crested Newts at Brooms Pond, on the Bradley opencast near Dipton.

Update: The first hearing is to be 12th December at Peterlee Magistrates Court.

Great Crested Newts are a European Protected Species and as such destroying their breeding and resting places is a criminal offence under regulation 43 of The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

At our court case in August a judge at Teeside Magistrates Court was unconvinced by the actions of the coal company regarding Brooms Pond on the Bradley opencast. “I cannot be satisfied to the criminal standard that Banks would not have committed, be committing, or be about to commit an offence contrary to the Conservation and Habitat of Species Regulations,” said Judge Cousins in her verdict. This meant that the five people on charges of aggravated trespass were acquitted.

During that case there was much discussion as to whether best available techniques were employed by Banks’ ecologist working for Argus and it was concluded that they weren’t. “There is no doubt in my mind that those standards were not followed” by Mr Lupton of Argus Ecology. [3]

Don Kent from the Campaign to Protect Pont Valley says, “It’s a very important and fundamental part of our society that the wealthy, both companies and individuals, are not able to escape their obligations under the law. Durham County Council has already refused to take action against Banks for a number of breaches of planning conditions. Let down by their representatives, local people cannot stand by and let a multi-million pound company ride roughshod over them, so we are taking a prosecution against the coal company ourselves.”

A Great Crested Newt was trapped by campaigners against the opencast in April 2018 who used pitfall traps seen as the best way to find out if newts are present. UK Coal, which secured planning permission on the site, had laid out plans to translocate newts to purpose built ponds to the north of the site. Proper procedures require a 250m exclusion zone around Brooms Pond, compliance with which risking the company failing to meet the planning deadline of the 3^rd June. Which ultimately Banks Group failed to meet this deadline but Durham County Council has refused to take action against the company.

According to the RSPB it is unusual for groups to need to privately prosecute wildlife crimes, but campaigners allege that Durham Constabulary, which does not have wildlife crime officers have refused to fully investigate the actions of the opencast company.

Anne Harris for Campaign to Protect Pont Valley says, “Durham Police force have inexplicably refused to properly investigate the major wildlife crime which happened here in plain sight, choosing instead to arrest people protecting the environment. Showing Durham constabulary are not interested in protected species in this area. We are left with no choice but to take Banks Group to court ourselves.”

If found guilty the coal company is likely to face a fine and reputational damage.

We’ve been working with communities against opencast coal mines and UK power stations for a whole decade. To celebrate we’re looking at our achievements a year at a time.

In 2014 an incredible seven new opencast applications rejected/ not put forward these were Hoodsclose at Whittonstall and an associated three more at pre-planning; Hathery Lane (Blyth), Marley Hill (Gateshead/ Durham), Deansfield (Wakefield) were also stopped after brilliant campaigns by local people.

Coal Action Network visited one of Colombia’s coal mining regions. “The mines invade our culture. They bring workers from elsewhere and don’t employ local people because we have not had the opportunity to train.

Young people say they want to work in the mine because of the money. The mines want young people to work there because they have less health problems. But they sack them if they get ill. And when they leave they have lost years from their life,” says Nubia, Las Cruces too close to Drummond’s mine.

The second inquiry into the Bradley (Pont Valley) opencast dominated three weeks of many local people’s time. It was clear there was no community consent and that the coal company was on its knees. This application was approved in June 2015.

We’re asking supporters to donate to our current legal fund for two court hearings against Banks Group and its mine in the Pont Valley. If you can help we have a crowd funder here.
We continued our international solidarity hosting the Dirty Coal tour in Northern England with visitors from Colombia and Indonesia. This included evening events and a visit to Druridge Bay, site of another proposed opencast.

In 2013 the main targets of Coal Action Scotland Scottish coal and ATH Resources collapsed. This left a number of opencast coal mines stranded with no money for any attempts at restoration and communities fighting for justice from a system which allows mining companies to extract resources, make money and leave the mess to be fixed by the council or abandoned.

At this time 36.4 % of UK electricity came from coal, more than from any other source. (In 2017 it was down to 7%)

Scottish opencast communities alliance called for a moratorium on new opencast coal mines.

Three new applications to opencast were approved, but never worked Shortwood farm, near Trowell; Cauldhall in Mid Lothian, and Hesley Wood Tip, South Yorkshire. T

he Varteg opencast in South Wales was rejected after a relentless community campaign.

UK Coal refused to accept the inspectors ruling against their proposal to opencast at Bradley (Pont Valley) taking the case to the High Court where we demonstrated, sadly the judge ruled in the coal company’s favour and there was a second inquiry.

An extension to St Ninnian’s in Fife was approved which included the draining Loch Fitty.

2012 saw Glentaggart East occupied for an action camp, Take Back the Land. There were three successful actions, including a mass trespass of the Mainshill opencast; a blockade of the then largest UK opencast – Broken Cross; and Lord Home, the hereditary peer who profited from opencast coal mines on his land, had his garden opencasted by campaigners.

2011 During this year there were 43 new opencast coal mines in the planning system.

A new coal power station Hunterston in Ayrshire was rejected. Two opencast mines were rejected, Auldton Heights in South Lanarkshire and Bradley in Durham (this was appealed twice and is now operational). The Minorca opencast in Leciestershire was approved and the Huntington Lane protest site evicted.

Coal Action Scotland organised an outdoor skillshare, sharing learning from the camps at Mainshill and Happenden Wood which have then been used on different sites against coal and other ecologically destructive projects.

2010 Huntington Lane opencast was occupied, by Defend Huntington Lane. In Scotland Airfield Farm proposed opencast was rejected, it was the first Scottish opencast to be rejected in five years following an expensive appeal by ATH resources where an opencast was forced through.

Coal Action Scotland (CAS) was evicted from Mainshill after a long protest camp set up in August 2009. The eviction took five days and 45 people were arrested costing the coal company thousands.

CAS went on to occupy a potential new opencast site Happenden wood to create a base in the expanding coal extractions of South Lanarkshire.

In South Wales Bristol Rising Tide blocked the private trainline to Ffos-y-fran.

2009 Saw the coal Caravan where a group of around 50 people who cycled from Nottingham to Cambois in Northumberland, visiting existing opencast coal mines, proposed opencast extraction, existing power stations and ending at a proposed power station. Events were held to raise awareness of the presence and dangers of opencast coal mining and coal’s contribution to catastrophic climate change.

In the summer the Scottish Climate Camp took place at Mainshill were an occupation had started to try to stop the increasing in opencast coal mines in the region.

Coal Action Network was set up in 2008 following a workshop at the Earth First! Summer Gathering. This followed the Bodge House squat of a farm house due to be demolished on UK Coal’s Lodge House site near Smalley. It was also the year of the Kings North Cl First Ravenstruther rail head blocakade

imate Camp. At the time there was a plan for another six new coal fired power stations, which were expected to be Carbon Capture and Storage ready, although the technology at scale didn’t exist.

Coal Action Scotland occupied the Ravenstruther Rail Head Terminal for the first time. The rail head takes coal from the opencasts in the area to the power stations in England.

We’re honoured to have spent ten years fighting with committed communities across the UK and abroad. These local groups have done much more than CAN has to ensure the demise of the industry and the protection of the communities and ecology living where coal extraction is proposed. Our role has been to work with different groups, share their learning and keep an eye on the national picture.

Want to help us to continue our work? We’re asking supporters to donate to our current legal fund for two court hearings against Banks Group and its mine in the Pont Valley. If you can help we have a crowd funder here.

This week Banks Group went to the High Court to try and get a decision made by the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government over-ruled on a new opencast extraction near to Druridge Bay in Northumberland.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) says, “149. Permission should not be given for the extraction of coal unless the proposal is environmentally acceptable, or can be made so by planning conditions or obligations; or if not, it provides national, local or community benefits which clearly outweigh the likely impacts to justify the grant of planning permission.”

Banks Group’s barrister argued that the negative consequences of a new three million tonne opencast were counted twice when the inspector made the above calculation.

The barrister for the Secretary of State argued that this wasn’t the case, with Friends of the Earth’s barrister adding that in his opinion the Secretary of State had actually included supposed benefits from Banks Group which should have been omitted, so the exercise should have been even less favourable for the coal company.

Banks Group repeatedly stated incorrectly that power station coal came to the UK from both Poland and China, claiming that if coal wasn’t extracted at Highthorn then it would come from these countries instead which would result in greater amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, due to the increased transport.

The barrister representing the government said that there is a presumption in planning in favour of minerals, but that coal lies somewhere between other minerals and peat and thus paragraph 149 of the NPPF tries to ensure coal is only extracted where the environmental harm is minimised.

The NPPF has changed since this decision was made. Coal is no longer seen as a mineral of great national importance, consistent with the coal phase-out, although the NPPF could have diminished coal’s status further.

The appellant claimed that the RSPB and Wildlife Trust was largely satisfied with the accommodations made for rare pink footed geese and yellow wagtails. Save Drurdige’s barrister pointed out that both organisations were still objecting to the application.

The Secretary of State’s barrister argued that digging up this coal meant that it would be built, where as leaving it in the ground left capacity in the electricity market available for renewables or new battery storage to fill.

The coal company seem to misunderstand the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions. Given that Bank’s “restoration first approach” of providing “enhancements for wildlife” prior to coal extraction beginning, the company would like us to believe that there would be a net benefit for ecology.

This ignores scientific agreement that climate change is creating hostile environments worldwide, diminishing the ability of the planet to support niche ecological systems, by pushing plant and animal communities towards the poles. Burning fossil fuels is reducing the quantity of land and seas able to support life. The destruction caused by climate change resulting from greenhouse gasses

due to burning this coal will be greater than the area of land Banks proposes reserving for wildlife.

but gave no indication as to which way he was likely to rule. It is likely to be a wait of over a month before his judgement is given.

If Banks Group’s appeal to the High Court is successful the Secretary of State will likely be ordered to remake his decision. This could still result in either a decision in favour of the opencast or a decision against this opencast with stronger legal reasoning for doing so.

300 metres from houses at High Stables, Dipton, the habitats of protected species are being destroyed to extract coal; fuelling climate change and lining the pockets of the mining company, Banks Group.

We believe we can prove that Banks Group has committed crimes against wildlife, and the government let them continue their destructive project, despite claiming to be ‘powering past coal’.

So far we’ve won public inquiries, camped in the snow, documented protected species on the site and more. We will use all tools available to us to stop the opencast and challenge the power of fossil fuel companies. Flick back through our recent posts to read more about these actions.

We are fighting two legal battles, one against the government for allowing the opencast to go ahead and the other against Banks itself for destroying the breeding grounds of a protected species.

The Secretary of State provided no reasoning or evidence to justify upholding Banks’ permit, when over 88,500 people signed a petition to support the letter with 25 local signatories and four community groups which put forward detailed arguments as to why it should be revoked. The former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government stopped Banks mining at Druridge Bay earlier this year citing the damage that burning this coal would cause to the environment as a main concern.

On the 17^th April we caught an endangered Great Crested Newt in a pitfall trap. This collaborates with the three surveys undertaken by UK Coal in 2007, 2011 and 2014 all of which found Great Crested Newts near the Brooms Pond.

Banks Group knew that if protected newts were found to be breeding on the site this year then the opencast could not be started prior to planning running out on the 4^th June. A 250m exclusion zone from Brooms Pond would be required to have enabled pitfall trapping and translocation of amphibians to the ponds created for this purpose to the north of this site. This would have prevented work on the access road.

The wildlife crimes relating to the newts and also in relation to ground nesting birds was reported hundreds of times to Durham police. The police failed to investigate properly, leaving us with no choice but to prosecute Banks Group ourselves.

Based on these events we believe we have the stronger argument against the opencast, and against Banks’ ‘Development with Care’ image. National and local government has failed us – we need to take this to the courts.

Coal extraction has started in one part of the site, but the north-eastern section is not due to be worked until around May 2019. There is still some of the Pont Valley which can be saved. By putting the Secretary of State’s decision to a legal test, we will seek a verdict against the opencast to stop it for good.

So there can be no doubt that their ‘development with care’ image is a myth. This will help our allies to challenge Banks’ other proposed opencast coal sites in the region such as Druridge Bay.

Through this campaign we’ve learned how common it is for developers to cherry pick evidence with the help of an ecologist, at the expense of protected species. Through this prosecution we aim to show that developers can be held accountable and that wider change is needed for safeguarding wildlife in the UK.

With no explanation, they let Banks go ahead in spite of all the evidence, even as other opencasts were called in by the government or failed to win planning permission on the grounds of damage to climate, health and ecology. Without plausible, transparent, well-argued reasons, the Secretary of State cannot claim that this outcome is legally, politically, economically or morally acceptable. They mustn’t be let off the hook, for the sake of other communities fighting opencast and dirty development.

High for the private prosecution against Banks for wildlife crime; A judge already ruled in favour of the Pont Valley Protection Camp, on the basis that Banks Group couldn’t present sufficient evidence to prove that endangered species were not on the site.

For the Judicial Review holding the Secretary of State accountable; launching it in itself will enforce transparency around the Secretary of State’s decision. The likelihood of getting the opencast stopped won’t be known until we get part way through the process – when a judge will decide whether our challenge can go forward to a full hearing. To begin, we need you to pledge in the knowledge that whether or not we can stop the opencast, there is more we can win for other campaigns against opencast in the process.

If the judge decides that our challenge can proceed to a full Judicial Review hearing, then we will need to set a new target for the next stages and raise more funds.

Taking the government AND a corporation to court is a bold move. It’s going to be a new journey with many highs and lows, and we can’t do it without you.

Legal battles are expensive. The success will be determined by how many people are willing to get behind us.

It’s our last chance to save what is left of the Valley – but this is bigger than that. It’s a unique opportunity to set a legal precedent to reign in the power of dirty development and make our government act accountably when there is so much at stake for wildlife and the climate.