UK Coal and its Coalpro allies plan to recreate this environmental havoc on hundreds more sites. It is already underway at Long Moor, Lodge House, Shotton, Steadsburn, Mainshill etc., each one the result of the betrayal of local communities by this despicable government, and each one doubtless a Wrekin in its own way to those affected. This is not energy security, this is exploitation by private enterprise, unnecessarily sending the shallow coal reserves of the UK up a smokestack and increasing our vulnerability in any future energy crisis. All solely for the fat profits of companies who just want to be our “good neighbours”. What a joke; a few ministers and MP’s looking for consultancies with the opencast industry come the election no doubt, but WE pay the price with our quality of life and health with the real victims as described above just waiting for this axe to fall…

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What a load of nonsense.

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z0la25 lives 2 miles from the Wrekin, has to travel to work on an opencast mine in Fife, and supports another on his doorstep. Why would that be, I wonder? What a joker. Let me tell you however, z0la25, our experience of opencast in Derbyshire over the last 70 years is very different from the picture you paint, including the current operations of our very unwelcome “good neighbour” UK Coal. You might consider the letter submitted as “gibberish”, but then again you’re hardly likely to say any different when this disgusting profit-led wartime throwback is your paymaster…

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Well, thats it in a nutshell zOLa25, you wouldnt be biased in any way would you, ( as your employment depends on this horrific form of Opencast Mining ).
COTEYG

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Twisted Melon – the parts of the world that the UK imports coal from do not have the same unique environmental sensitivity to opencast mining. These countries are much bigger, the population density is much less, and the mining generally does not take place right next to communities crippled by premature pit closures. As for the transport environmental impact, and due to premature pit-closures, a balance has to be struck between the former and the direct impact on the local environment which is destroyed along with quality of life and replaced by something different –usually in communities that have suffered enough. This is not a NIMBY argument, as this has been going on for 70 years in parts of the country such as mine; supposedly a WWII short term emergency measure, but recognised by private enterprise, employing very few, and even less local people, as a huge cash-cow. And for your information, we did indeed welcome our own group of protestors a short time ago, who supported the overwhelming democratic opinion of local people in opposing more opencast mining, and who were betrayed by the government. There is absolutely no parallel in the motivation of these protestors and the travellers you describe…

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Twisted Melon – the parts of the world that the UK imports coal from do not have the same unique environmental sensitivity to opencast mining. These countries are much bigger, the population density is much less, and the mining generally does not take place right next to communities crippled by premature pit closures. As for the transport environmental impact, and due to premature pit-closures, a balance has to be struck between the former and the direct impact on the local environment which is destroyed along with quality of life and replaced by something different – usually in communities that have suffered enough. This is not a NIMBY argument, as this has been going on for 70 years in parts of the country such as mine; supposedly a WWII short term emergency measure, but recognised by private enterprise, employing very few, and even less local people, as a huge cash-cow. And for your information, we did indeed welcome our own group of protestors a short time ago, who supported the overwhelming democratic opinion of local people in opposing more opencast mining, and who were betrayed by the government. There is absolutely no parallel in the motivation of these protestors and the “travellers” you describe. As for the essential nature of this coal, or the UK’s coal in general, if indigenous supply was SO essential, then why have all the deep-mines been closed? So now the ordinary person in the street has to pay the price for government stupidity and duplicity, is that it? Ohforgoodnesssake – “necessary and bearable” – not our experience, nowhere near…

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