Whitehaven coal mine planning permission quashed by High Court

A judge has reached a decision.

Author: Matt MaddrenPublished 13th Sep 2024
Last updated 13th Sep 2024

The decision to grant planning permission for what would have been the UK's first coal mine in 30 years at Whitehaven in Cumbria has been quashed by a High Court judge.

This comes off the back of a legal challenge by environmental groups against planning permission being granted for the site in 2022.

Arguments were heard in July - with Friends of the Earth calling it a hypocritical project - but West Cumbria Mining defended it - saying it'll create jobs and prosperity for the Whitehaven area.

After permission was granted in 2022, the Government withdrew its defence of the claim in July this year following a Supreme Court decision in June which said emissions created by burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting planning permission to new extraction sites.

Work on the coal mine had been due to start next year.

Mr Justice Holgate said in a ruling on Friday that giving the go-ahead for the development at Whitehaven in Cumbria was "legally flawed".

In a statement - West Cumbria Mining said;

"West Cumbria Mining will consider the implications of the High Court judgement and has no comment to make at this time."

Duncan Pollard, a trustee at South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC), said:

"Today's ruling is a huge relief for SLACC and our supporters who have spent years trying to expose the truth about West Cumbria Mining's proposal and Michael Gove's decision to approve it.

"It is now doubly clear that fossil fuel companies cannot ignore the combustion emissions caused by the use of their oil, gas or coal, or rely on simplistic claims that a new coal mine will have zero impact on global emissions.

"We sincerely hope that any re-examination of the coal mine proposal considers all relevant issues and this ill-conceived idea is permanently shelved. Central and local government need to concentrate on secure and sustainable jobs for west Cumbria."

Niall Toru, senior lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said:

"This is fantastic news and a huge victory for our environment and everyone who has fought against this climate-damaging and completely unnecessary coal mine.

Hear the latest news from across the UK every hour, on Planet Rock on DAB, smartspeaker, and on the Rayo app.