RESIDENTS are gearing up for another fight to stop opencast mining near their homes.

A second public inquiry will be held next month into Durham County Council’s refusal to grant UK Coal permission to extract 556,000 tonnes of coal from the Bradley site, near Leadgate, Consett.

The council rejected the proposal in February 2011 and the decision was upheld by a planning inspector after a public inquiry the following autumn.

But a High Court judge later quashed the inspector's decision on the grounds that it was "unreasonable and perverse and he had misunderstood Government planning guidance".

A second public inquiry will be held at Leadgate Workmen’s Social Club and Institute, in St Ives Road, Leadgate, starting at 10am on Tuesday, October 7, at 10am.

People living in the area fear the destruction of attractive countryside if the scheme goes ahead.

The Pont Valley Network, a group dedicated to the area’s conservation, is hoping the discovery of rock deposits that are rare in the North-East could help protect the area from mining.

Tufa , which was found at Pikewell Burn, is formed from deposits of calcium left by stream water and leads to the creation of little waterfalls.

The Pont Va lley Network wants it to be declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Watts Stelling, Durham County councillor for Leadgate and Medomsley, said: “Here we are again, back at another public inquiry a year after we had an inquiry that UK Coal didn’t accept.

“It is just a waste of the public purse and a waste of the inspector’s time, as far as I’m concerned.

“What’s changed since the first inquiry?

“They found some TUFA but I don’t know if they will take that into account.

“One of the main arguments will be the affect on the landscape.

“Feelings are running extremely high.I think a lot of residents will want to speak and I think the inspector will see the strength of feeling of the people of the Pont Valley.”

Cllr Watts added that the area’s countryside was an attraction for people from in the region and beyond.

No-one was available for comment at UK Coal.

The company has previously said that it was pleased by the success of its application to the High Court and that it and the county council agreed that there should be aa second public inquiry.