MINORCA UPDATE (14/3/10) AND OUR RESEARCH REPORTS

The campaign to oppose an opencast mine is still ongoing and still has no end date in view. Tuesday 17^th March will mark the 18^th month anniversary of the start of this saga. The 17^th September 2008 was the date UK Coal plc asked for advice on what needed to be included in its formal Scoping Inquiry and residents began to get the invitation to go to their Public Exhibitions. July 2009 saw the submission of their Planning Application, in three large A4 ring binders. The beginning of November 2009 saw the completion of the first round of consultations, with a number of significant objections lodges, not just from MOPG. Since then we have been waiting for UK Coal to submit further documentation – at least a further 400 pages we believe. Without this further information Leicestershire County Council are reluctant to make a decision on this application.

Here is the rub. According to planning guidance rules UK Coal plc have an unlimited amount of time in which to prepare and submit their supplementary documentation. We will have possibly only three weeks in which to respond once it is submitted (date currently unknown even though we have written to UK Coal plc asking them for a date) and if we are lucky 10 days notice that the application is the agenda of the appropriate LCC board meeting as an item for decision (The Development Control and Regulatory Board). In that time, not only do we have to prepare our reply we also should attempt to lobby as many of representative councils on why they should still object to the application. It will be a busy time. At present, this application is due to be determined on 20^th May 2010

This might not be the date a decision is made however. If the supplementary submission has been made, but there is not enough time for it to complete a further round of consultations before the May 20^th meeting the item will be taken off the agenda. If the documentation has not been submitted by then it will not be an item on the agenda for that meeting. If the objections stand, after a further round of consultations, then UK Coal plc can go away again and work on another supplementary set of documents – it is a reiterative process. If UK Coal plc decide to proceed with a determination of the application by LCC and the County Council reject the application we could then be looking at a Public Inquiry. It goes on and on!!!

In the mean time MOPG has been busy researching matters to do with planning issues, the supply of coal and UK Coal plc itself. So far we have produced three Research Reports;

Research Report 1) COAL, COLLUSION AND COMMUNITIES (Oct 2009)

This paper explores why, from the adoption of the revised Minerals Planning Guidance 3 (MPG3) up to October 2009, coal operators have been increasingly successful at winning appeals for opencast mines in England and the possible implications this has for future planning applications.

More information about this Research Paper is contained on the Coal In The UK Planning Issues and Advice Forum pages

Research Report 2) OPENCAST / SURFACE MINED COAL: IT’S ROLE IN PROVIDING UK ENERGY SECURITY  (January 2010)

This report reviews recent trends in the use of coal for energy generation purposes, the sourcing of that coal and changes in the production of domestically produced coal. Consideration is then given to future estimates for the demand for coal and what implications this carries for indigenous coal production, the creation of up to 180 new opencast mines between 2007 and 2025 and the possibility that, by then, the UK will only be producing opencast coal for electrical generating purposes. Before drawing a number of conclusions from the report the report indicates which parts of the country could be affected by the increased number of future opencast planning applications.

More information about this Research Report is contained on the Coal In The UK Planning Issues and Advice Forum pages

Research Report 3) UK COAL plc: AN ALTERNATIVE REPORT (March 2010)

This report reviews the recent history of UK Coal plc’s mining operations and details the overall estimated accumulated losses it has accrued in this area of its activities between 2000 and 2008. Attention then switches to a critical assessment of UK Coal’s representation of its land bank being mainly ‘brownfield’ land. Lastly, after presenting three case studies that show UK Coal’s attempts to develop its land often meets serious and sometimes successful resistance from local communities the report reaches a number of conclusions.

More information about this Research Report is contained on the Coal InThe UK Miscellaneous Forum pages, but is does contain information on how UK Coal plc may use the Planning System after they take the coal out.