Taxpayers in Shropshire have been left footing a bill of £350,000 in legal fees and charges stemming from a failed council bid to stop an open cast mine being built in the shadow of The Wrekin.

UK Coal took its bid to extract 900,000 tonnes of coal from a site near the beauty spot to a national planning inspector after the company claimed Telford & Wrekin Council took too long to make up its mind on the application.

The inspector ruled in UK Coal’s favour after a long – and ultimately costly – inquiry and the company now hopes to be on site by the middle of next year.

Council bosses today defended the outlay saying the level of public opposition to the scheme meant they had no choice but to fight it.

Objectors living close to the proposed site near Little Wenlock claimed their lives would be wrecked, their health harmed by the noise and dust, wildlife would be wiped out and property prices would plummet.

But campaign group, The Taxpayers’ Alliance, has hit out at the costs saying the council should not have gambled such a large amount of cash in the current economic climate.

Councillor Steve Bentley, Telford & Wrekin Council cabinet member for environment, said: “Given the strength of public concern over this application it was only right that the council fought it comprehensively on planning grounds.

“Legal costs and consultants fees amounted to around £350,000 but the council was able to secure significant alterations to the proposed method of working which will be a massive improvement to benefit local residents during the period of excavation.”

Councillor Bentley said the council also managed to get a commitment from UK Coal to spend £500,000 in the local community around the mine to improve the lives of residents.

But Fiona McEvoy, of the West Midlands Taxpayers’ Alliance, said ratepayers had every right to feel aggrieved.

She said: “In the current economic climate Telford & Wrekin Council should have assessed this situation more thoroughly before frittering such large amounts of cash.”