Deep coal mine plans officially dropped

Plans for the UK’s first deep coal mine in more than 30 years have officially been abandoned.

Planning permission for the mine at Whitehaven, Cumbria, was overturned by the High Court last year following a campaign by environmental groups.

Developer West Cumbria Mining (WCM) was then given a deadline by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to decide whether it would seek planning permission again.

WCM has now dropped these plans, MHCLG said. The developer has been approached for comment.

The mine was initially approved by the then-government in 2022, but Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change argued the environmental impact of burning extracted coal had not been taken into account.

At the High Court last September, Mr Justice Holgate described the government’s assumption that the mine would not produce a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions, or would be a net zero mine, as “legally flawed”.

WCM said at the time it would “consider the implications” of the judgement before commenting further.

Campaigners had been calling for the firm to “break its silence”.

As it is legally obliged to do, the government began the process for reassessing the application earlier this year and wrote to all interested parties asking for their views.

Friends of the Earth said it met a 27 February deadline to submit its reply but that WCM had “failed to respond”.

The mining firm was then given a new deadline of 26 March to respond.

MHCLG has now confirmed that the mining company withdrew its planning application for the site on 31 March.

Friends of the Earth activist Tony Bosworth said the group was “delighted” by the news.

“Congratulations to all the brilliant local campaigners who fought so powerfully to stop this mine,” he said.

“The focus must now switch to ensuring local people get the green jobs they so urgently need – areas like West Cumbria have been left behind for far too long.”

The MHCLG declined to comment.