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Coal mine campaigns

In the midst of the climate crisis, the UK still mines and imports coal. The coal is primarily used for steel and cement production. Mining companies are currently applying for more underground coal mine applications and expansions, which we are fighting - such as the proposed West Cumbria coal mine. There is currently one large operating coal mine in the UK - Aberpergwm, a deep coal mine in South Wales.  Read our coal facts and figures, or our myth busters. Below you can find site specific information about active, recently closed, and proposed coal mining sites in the UK.

Updates

Another nail in the coffin for West Cumbria Mining Ltd

The proposed West Cumbria Coal mine lost its planning permission in September 2024. Since then its application to get a full coal mining license was refused by the Coal Authority, another nail in the coffin of the proposed coking coal mine.

Object to extending the Glan Lash coal mine in 2024

This drone footage shot on 06 April 2023 shows plainly the local environmental impact of the Glan Lash opencast coal mine (dormant since 2019), and sends a powerful message to Carmarthenshire’s Councillors, expected to make a decision in the coming months on whether to allow…

Glan Lash extension: the second attempt

Bryn Bach Coal Ltd is the coal mining company that operates the Glan Lash opencast coal mine, which has been dormant since planning permission expired in 2019. In 2018, it applied for an extension which was unanimously rejected by planning councillors in 2023. Undeterred, Bryn Bach Coal Ltd is trying again! This time with a slightly smaller extension of some 85,000 tonnes rather than 95,000 tonnes…

Welsh Government & Local Council respond to CCEIC’s recommendations

In May 2023, Coal Action Network wrote to the Climate Change, Energy, and Infrastructure Committee (CCEIC) of the Welsh Senedd, informing the Committee of the ongoing illegal coal mining at Ffos-y-fran in Merthyr Tydfil, and the Council and Welsh Government’s refusal to use their enforcement powers to prevent the daily extraction of over 1,000 tonnes of coal…

Historic moment ends coal for power generation

The UK is reaching a major milestone in its transition to clean energy, one that Coal Action Network has campaigned for since its inception in 2008 — the complete phase-out of coal power generation. From October 2024, Ratcliffe power station — the last remaining coal-fired power station in the country…

Coal, British Industry, and Colonialism

Coal powered Britain’s industrial and economic expansion during its Industrial Revolution. The abundance of coal discovered in Britain was a key factor that enabled the country’s early industrialisation, developing technologies and industries unfeasible elsewhere due to the lack of cheap energy sources…

Victory – West Cumbria Coal Mine Rejected!

Victory! The High Court overturns the 2022 planning permission to mine coal at Whitehaven.

Take action – let planners say no to new coal mining

Take action – let planners say no to new coal mining TAKE ACTION The public consultation window for the National Policy and Planning Framework represents the first opportunity since the new UK Government was formed to stop any new coal mine application winning planning permission…

We need remediation without the climate vandalism

ERI Ltd launched its pre-application consultation in early 2024 to mine two coal tips in Bedwas, South Wales. The company is proposing to extract a total of around 468,000 tonnes of coal from both tips…

Senedd Committee reports ‘Missed Opportunities’ in Restoring Nature at Opencast Coal Mines in Wales

The Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee (CCEIC) has released a critical report on the management of opencast coal mining in Wales, particularly focusing on Ffos-y-Fran, one of the last opencast…

Legal challenge against Cumbrian coal mine heard in court

From Tuesday 16th July to lunchtime 18th July, Lord Holgate heard the case, brought by South Lakes Action on Climate Change and Friends of the Earth, against the Government’s 2022 approval of a new underground coal mine at Whitehaven.

Horse Hill Supreme Court victory

Fantastic news today, 20th June 2024. The UK Supreme Court has set a historical precedent, in overturning a previous ruling, considering the legality of approving a new oil site in Surrey. The ground breaking decision stating that ‘downstream’ emissions (those released when a product is used) must be factored into decisions on…

UK election 2024: Parties line up to ban more coal mining

The UK’s last coal-fired power station closes this year, and last year is confirmed the hottest year on record. We’re pleased that the Labour Party has listened to our arguments, along with the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, and Plaid Cymru which have also ruled out any new coal mining…

Email your election candidate

Coal Action Network asked Who will stop coal? last weekend in Whitehaven, West Cumbria. At the site of the proposed coal mine, members of the local community and supporters gathered to ensure that the question of the mine is being put to election candidates. Now we need you to crank up the pressure and make sure all election candidates across the UK faces this question as they could decide the fate of the coal mine if elected…

Hearing date set for proposed West Cumbria Coal mine

The legal challenges against the government’s approval of a new coal mine off the coast of Cumbria will be heard in London on the 16th to 18th July.

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