MP warns Cumbrian coal mine approval will be a catastrophic failure in fight against climate change

On the eve of a key planning meeting where councillors in Cumbria will decide whether to approve plans for the Britain's first new deep coal mine in 30 years, local MP Tim Farron has warned that the mine would be 'a catastrophic failure in the fight against climate change'.

Back in March 2019, the plans for the mine were approved by councillors. As a result, Tim wrote to the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government James Brokenshire, urging him to call-in the planning decision. This ultimately helped to delay the mine by 18 months.

The plans have now been resubmitted with councillors set to decide whether to give them the green lights tomorrow.

Tim, who will be speaking at the planning meeting, said: "There is no doubt in my mind that these plans for a coal mine in Cumbria are a catastrophic failure in our collective efforts to tackle the climate emergency.

"There are far better ways of creating jobs than this - especially when improvements in technology and a likely decline in demand for coal won't guarantee the full 500 jobs for the full 50 years.

"In Cumbria, we are England's windiest and wettest county with the fastest moving rivers in the country - our natural resources and the strength of our nuclear industry could create many times more renewable energy jobs than this mine ever could.

"If we are to be able to look our children and grandchildren in the eye and say that we did everything in our power to avert catastrophic climate change then we need to resolve to do the one thing that is most likely to achieve that - and that is to vote to keep Cumbria's fossil fuels safely in the ground."