Villagers raise fears over opencast mining plans (From The Northern Echo)

Villagers raise fears over opencast mining plans

10:30am Monday 31st August 2009 in

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VILLAGES will suffer noise, dirt and danger if plans for the opencast mining of two million tonnes of coal are approved.

Archaeologists will start digging the site of a potential coal mine to unearth its history as part of an environmental assessment.

A series of shallow trenches will be dug in the next few weeks on land near Whittonstall, north of Consett, County Durham, to find evidence of a history of cultural importance.

UK Coal says it will submit a planning application to carry out the coal extraction, just over the border with County Durham.

But there are fears of the scheme’s impact on villages in Derwentside that could be on the route of lorries going to and from the site.

The company says it is likely to submit an application to work the site, which would be called Hoodsclose, by the end of the year and that if the scheme is approved it would create at least 50 jobs for about seven years.

The presence of coal reserves was proved in the Seventies by a drilling programme by the then National Coal Board (NCB). A subsequent application by the NCB to extract up to 3.5 million tonnes from the Whittonstall site was refused in 1978.

Durham County councillor for Leadgate and Medomsley, Watts Stelling, has voiced his opposition to the scheme because of its impact on his constituents.

Councillor Stelling, a member of the Derwentside Independents group, said: “My concern is that the villages will have coal wagons trundling along country roads through Ebchester, Low Westwood, Hamsterley Colliery, Hamsterley Mill, Leadgate, Lanchester, etc, and that the noise, dirt and danger would be intolerable.

“This part of County Durham already has the heavy lorries to and from Broadoak Quarry not far from the proposed opencast site.

“Enough is enough.

Northumberland County Council should look for any proposed traffic movements to go through their county for a change.’’ UK Coal project manager Richard Cory said: “The scaled-down proposals will take account of the reasons the larger previous scheme was rejected and will include a wide range of measures to protect surrounding communities and the environment.

“Coal that can be recovered from Hoodsclose in an environmentally acceptable way will displace imports, create well-paid jobs and provide a boost for the local and regional economy.”