Coal giant maps out plan for mine
Thursday 30th April 2009, 8:00PM BST.
This map shows the two patches of land on the western edge of Telford under which lie millions of pounds worth of coal – just 100m away from the rural community of New Works.
Whether this coal should be mined is being thrashed out at a public inquiry before a planning inspector, with the final decision made by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears.
UK Coal wants to extract 900,000 tonnes of coal and 250,000 tonnes of brickmaking fireclay from fields and woodland off Huntington Lane, between New Works and Little Wenlock.
Telford & Wrekin Council claims the mine would cause years of misery because of noise, dust and vibration from blasting as well as harming precious countryside close to The Wrekin and Ercall beauty spots.
The inquiry, at Grays Hotel, Telford Town Centre, has been hearing for the past two days from Trevor Parkin, an engineer with consultant Entec UK, which has produced an environmental statement for UK Coal.
The statement, including this map, shows the proposed Huntington Lane surface mine site covering 93.5 hectares (231 acres) either side of New Works Wood.
It stretches from 200m south of the M54 to Huntington, with its boundary running 100m from the settlement at New Works, 600m from Lawley and 1km from Dawley and Horsehay.
The mining areas would be linked by a “haul road” for dumper trucks over historic mine workings, a sche- duled ancient monument. The road would be replaced when UK Coal’s work finishes with a bridleway.
In a statement, UK Coal said: “Recovering coal from the 10 seams lying close to the surface would be a once and for all time scheme, with the coal extracted over a 32-month period and the site going ‘green to green’ in 41 months.”
It said 92 jobs would be created, with six truck-loads leaving the site each hour by road, mostly destined for Ironbridge Power Station.
The statement said: “Coal today is used to generate ab- out 35 per cent of Britain’s electricity. UK Coal produ- ces almost half of Britain’s annual coal output of 18 million tonnes.
“But total UK output is only one third of the national annual consumption.
“Imports are transported from Russia, South Africa and Colombia – with Russia alone supplying more coal every year than is produced in the UK. These imports are costing Britain about £3 billion a year and thousands of jobs, often in areas of relatively high unemployme- nt.” The inquiry continues.
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I’d be interested to know just how many of the objectors to the opencast scheme have also objected against the plans to build on public open space in Telford, and if any of them, especially the local residents, stand to benefit from such developments?
The comments from Telford & Wrekin Council are particularly hypocritical, bearing in mind that they are prepared to sell off the smallest green space in densely populated areas of Telford, while their own Leader objects to a chicken farm in a thinly populated agricultural area.
I would suggest that any harmful side effects of the opencast will have been forgotten within a few years, whereas our public open spaces will be lost forever.
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Its about time this coal was mined and the issue settled once and for all. new works, coal moor, coalbrookdale, the origin of our local history is obvious to all except the nimby little wenlock protestors! caveat emptor. This should of been mined as originally proposed eight years ago we’d be looking at green fields by now, what do these people expect? To leave the coal and clay for ever or should we just leave it for when these people aren’t residing here.
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I am not sure where both the above people who have posted live, or if they have children, but if they are within 2km downwind of this mine then they should get their heads out of the sand, and be VERY concerned for their childrens health, if not their own and others.
If they live beyond this zone, then they obviously dont care about those who do – around 96,000 Telford People.
When the Air Quality evidence from UK Coal is produced,it should be noticed that there are very many contradictions, an error here, an omission there, with health issues it must be dead right, or thats the end result -dead.
Obviously, the above people, so ready to criticise, are NOT party to this evidence – only those involved in the Inquiry and giving recognised evidence have this, so until you have full access to the facts, why not shut up until you know what you are talking about?
Friends of the Ercall.
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NEVER we must resist this plan
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If Patrick Judson had bothered to actually read my original comment he would have realised that I was not supporting the open cast scheme – merely pointing out the hypocrisy of some of the objectors – especially Telford & Wrekin Council, who clearly don’t give a damn about the majority of residents of Telford
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people forget or didnt live around here the last time the scarred the countryside around lawley overdale and ketley it has taken 20 years and still nothing grows on the fields left so they then call it brownbelt hence 36,000 being built on once green belt land you are all being hoodwinked into allowing the destruction of our kids futures for enough coal to power ironbridge for TWO WEEKS i aint no green mamby pamby but i grew up around here the last time so i know what expect and if you think it is going to be green in a couple of years have a look where it has been done twenty years ago
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to carry on with my previous post this destruction is going to go ahead whether we shout or not we just need to look at this councils record for taking no notice of the people this inquiry is just a show to make the council look like they care they want this to go ahead because they are running out of places to build on this greenbelt land will be brownbelt the minute they put a shovel in the ground
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this will really badly effect your house prices if you live in this area
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Actually…. if you look at the map, you will see its not actally the Wrekin hill itself being mined like the scare mongers claim but the area around little wenlock which is riddled with historic mines and quarries and contains a massive Hazardous waste landfill site, at candles, so this area is already ruined really
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I am not a nimby , sean (#2) and I don’t live near the proposed site, john s (#8), but I wholeheartedly support Friends of the Ercall and Telford Against New Coal in their campaigns.
But what is the alternative to coal?
I hope here that I can briefly sketch out the vision of an alternative energy future to coal, in the hope that it will prompt people to debate the points and come up with better ideas.
Our government has missed the opportunity, presented by the financial crisis, to radically change direction and provide leadership to the world.
Instead of massively investing in a green industrial revolution, funded by a Green New Deal (see new economics foundation website for details), we seem to be blindly pursuing climate-heating policies like expanding new coal and aviation.
A Green New Deal, invested in nationwide energy conservation measures, on-shore (and off-shore) wind and other renewables, would provide MORE JOBS locally than coal (or nuclear), and it would be a positive investment for the future.
President Barack Obama understands that the crisis can be converted into an opportunity.
$100bn of his (February 2009) $787bn economic recovery plan is going into expanding energy conservation (eg insulation, sealing, double glazing) and into renewable energy like wind and solar.
And what is more, this green segment of the stimulus package is projected to create 2 million JOBS over the next two years in the USA.
Where is the green, job-creating vision here in the UK?
Burning coal and expanding aviation wilfully ignores the best climate science and will only make the future unaffordable for our children.
What do other people see as the way forward for energy policy in this country?
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the whole place is old coal mines – look on the map – it even says ‘former opencast’ on the map – so those that say this is a pristine environment only show the arguement that these sites will recover over time, grass grows back in a few years and within about 10 there will be trees, within 20 soil forms, within 30 you can begin to decontaminate the site and remove the pollutants, within 50 years they will call it a country park
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Dear “Friends of the Ercall” Being as I have direct family conections to new works dating from 1915 indeed as I actually do reside in the affected area further have a family history within this locality of over 150 years I can speak with authority as to historical legitimacy of mining and industry in “Telford” Arguments of air quality hold no validity with me ,Telfords industry was founded on iron, coal ,brickles,hardly clean air industries : we survived it then and shall endeavour again! Did anyone bother the last time Horsehay was opencast ,indeed need I remind people of the open cast in the 1970′s directly off Little Wenlock leading to Wenmoredale?(Wheres That? !!) Didn’t seem much of an issue then as I sure in ten years time if this opencast is successful No one will be bothered. Given the current economic climate “green” issues are unimportant the reality is one day this land will be mined.To suggest otherwise is folly. My reason is sound.
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What does pedro mendes think will be the effect of blindly burning coal and ignoring the science within 50 years?
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sean says ‘“green” issues are unimportant’ in the current economic climate.
I strongly disagree.
Investing massively in green responses to issues like climate change, peak oil and energy security is the best way to CREATE JOBS, tackle these issues, stimulate the economy and make the future more affordable.
The South Koreans have realised this. They are planning to CREATE 940,000 JOBS with their £23 billion stimulus package.
According to HSBC bank, 81% of the South Korean economic package is earmarked for green projects (green housing, energy efficiency, green energy and green transport).
In the UK by contrast, 7% of the stimulus is for green measures.
In the 1970s society was unaware of the enormous costs associated with burning coal.
Today we cannot claim to be as ignorant.
It’s time to face up to the facts, invest in an affordable future and leave the Age of Stupid in the past ( http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/03/20/its-not-as-stupid-as-it-sounds/ ).
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Dig it up and burn it,about time to
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