Meeting on mine move at Wrekin

A public meeting is to be held in Shropshire to discuss controversial plans to start open-cast coal mining at the foot of The Wrekin.

Representatives of UK Coal will spell out their proposals at Little Wenlock Village Hall on March 28 at 7pm.

The company hopes to extract 900,000 tonnes of coal - enough to keep Britain in electricity for a week - over a four-year period.

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard fears it will destroy an area of "outstanding beauty".

He has started an on-line petition against the plan at www.markpritchard.com

He hopes that a "people's protest" will persuade UK Coal to back down over the scheme.

The two sites earmarked are off New Works Lane and Huntington Lane.

Residents fought a bitter battle in the 1990s to stop RJB Mining, since bought by UK Coal, from extracting coal in the area.

They have reacted angrily to the news that the prospect of coal mining has reared its head again.

They are worried about the impact on the environment and wildlife, disturbance from lorries and dust and a potential threat to the quality of life.

UK Coal says there is a ready market for this coal in power stations in the West Midlands.

It says it intends to submit a planning application in the summer and has promised to keep people informed and to seek their views.