Protest taking place over Whitehaven Coal Mine
It comes after the government confirmed it would no longer defend it.
Protests are taking place today over the proposed Whitehaven coal mine.
South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) and Friends of the Earth launched legal challenges after planning permission for the site was approved by Michael Gove when he was in government.
The new Labour government have confirmed they wouldn't back this decision though, and said it no longer defends the claims.
Despite this the groups still intend to protest.
In a statement on SLACC's social media page, they said:
"BIG NEWS! Government accepts 'error in law' on coal mine decision!
"The Secretary of State (SoS) of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (LUHC) has accepted that there was an “error in Law” in the previous decision to grant planning permission for the mine.
"The Government will therefore not be defending the decision, made in December 2022, to grant planning permission for the new mine, and will argue that it should be quashed.
"This is HUGE news. West Cumbria Mining has vowed to fight on, and they appear to be contesting the Government's Statement of Reasons, so the Hearing of our legal challenges will be 16th -18th July as scheduled. Only the Court can quash the planning consent, and that is what we are hoping for.
"In the reasoned and careful “Statement of Reasons” the SoS explains that the re-assessment is the result of the Supreme Court's recent judgement on the “Finch v Surrey County Council'' case. It is now clear that the combustion emissions, i.e. from the use of the Cumbrian coal, should have been assessed as an indirect effect of the new extraction in the Environmental Impact Assessment.
"If that is agreed by the Court, the planning application goes back to the SoS to make a fresh decision."
The mine has divided opinions though, with some spurred on by the proposed jobs that it would bring to the west of the county.
Former mayor of Copeland Michael Starkie is one of the backers of the mine, he said:
"The mine would make such a huge difference to west Cumbria and the people that live in west Cumbria.
"It would bring a lot of jobs and prosperity, so like many people in the area I am supportive.
"There's nothing for west Cumbria, there is no progress. We're being denied the prosperity that this mine would bring to the area and all the jobs that would come with it.
"There's nothing at all that's ready to go that would see shovels in the ground in the near future.
"There's claims the jobs are not long-term. 500 jobs paying something like 70 grand a year is better than no jobs paying nothing a year.
The company who'd be building the coal mine are also defending their project in the high court.
Three days of legal hearing get underway today (Tuesday)