West Cumbria Mining Ltd (WCM) said it was disappointed that the Government had decided to call in and hold a public inquiry on its plans for a metallurgical coal mine off the coast of Cumbria.
The miner added it would assess the requirements of the public inquiry process and present a compelling case to the planning inspector.
WCM said that the Government had known about the Climate Change Committee’s report, published in December 2020, before decided in February against calling in the application for Woodhouse Colliery.
The company added that it was “extremely unfortunate” that large projects such as the deep mine, which had met local and national planning and environmental criteria, were subject to continuing delays in decision making.
The UK Coal Authority granted the company three coal exploration which collectively cover approximately 200 km2 of land and seabed off the coast at Whitehaven in West Cumbria.
More than £36 million has so far been invested in the project development from private funds, with EMR Capital being the company’s main shareholder.
WCM has also lodged papers at the High Court for a judicial review over how the local authority, Cumbria County Council, has handled the company’s application.
“ILL-INFORMED”
“After committing so much time, resource and private funding towards the creation of a truly worthwhile project, it is distressing to learn that the Secretary of State [Robert Jenrick MP] has decided at this late stage to reverse the two previous decisions not to ‘call in’ the project, “said chief executive Mark Kirkbride.
“This appears to be in response to ill-informed comments rather than complying with established policy.
“As is abundantly clear in our planning application, the project would be beneficial to the local West Cumbrian community, the core industry in the North of England and the prosperity of the wider UK.
“Nothing about the project has changed since the SoS [Secretary of State] last expressed his view two months ago.
“The Climate Change Committee’s recommendations for the 6th Carbon Budget predate his most recent decision not to intervene, and nothing in the recommendations provide justification for a reversal of Cumbria CC’s [County Council’s] planning committee decisions to approve the project three times.”
Mr Kirkbride added that WCM would present a “compelling” submission to the planning inspector to ensure approval for the project.