Group in opencast mine bid protest
Tuesday 7th October 2008, 10:15AM BST.
Campaigners fighting plans for a controversial opencast mine on the edge of Telford were due to launch a protest today.
Protesters from Telford Against New Coal were expected to gather outside Telford & Wrekin Council’s Darby House building this afternoon.
They are planning to hang a large banner “Telford Against New Coal” from the nearby footbridge and said they would be encouraging people to join their campaign.
They also plan to ask passers-by to write to the planning office with their objections.
UK Coal wants permission to extract about one million tonnes of coal from the site at Huntington Lane, New Works, over three years. The coal would be for use in power stations in Ironbridge and Rugeley.But Emily Reid, from Telford Against New Coal, said: “It’s astonishing that there are plans to dig up about one million tonnes of coal from the foot of The Wrekin in order to burn it in climate-wrecking power stations.
“Even if all the coal went directly to Ironbridge power station, it would last for less than 30 days.
“It’s clear to us that it needs to stay in the ground.”
A health study is currently being carried out into the potential effects of the opencast mine.
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