Woodhouse Colliery

In June 2014, West Cumbria Mining announced its intention to invest £14.7 million in a venture to explore for premium quality coking coal underneath the sea off Whitehaven.{{cite news |title=Plans to restore mining industry |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-27773853 |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=BBC News |date=10 June 2014}} The project had started before as a plan to find and gasify the coal for energy use, but when the quality of the coal was discovered, it precipitated a shift into mining the coal for steelmaking. It is intended to use the coal only for coking rather than for the electricity supply industry (ESI). The fall in the price of ESI coal in the world markets also precipitated the closure of mines using coal only for ESI.Such as Kellingley in West Yorkshire, the last deep coal mine in operation in Britain which closed after a drop in the world coal price.{{cite news |last1=Lodge |first1=Tony |title=Tony Lodge: Old King Coal is dead, but long live British mining |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/tony-lodge-old-king-coal-is-dead-but-long-live-british-mining-1-8205666 |accessdate=16 July 2018 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=28 October 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Bounds |first1=Andrew |title=Date set for closure of UK's last deep mine at Kellingley |url=https://www.ft.com/content/c3ab8fa0-9aa2-11e5-a5c1-ca5db4add713 |accessdate=17 July 2018 |work=Financial Times |date=11 December 2015|url-access=subscription }} If approved, the mine would be England's first deep coal mine since the Asfordby pit was sunk in 1987.

The inferred resources suggest that the mine could produce over {{convert|3,000,000|tonne}} of coking coal per year from across a {{convert|200|km2|order=flip|adj=on}} section underneath the Irish Sea.{{cite news |last1=Samuel |first1=Juliet |title=Vast coal discovery off Cumbria coast 'could fire up British mining industry' |work=The Times |date=24 May 2013 |page=57|issn=0140-0460}} Backers of the scheme point out that Britain imports {{convert|6,000,000|tonne}} of coal per year (from which coke is synthesised at large steel plants), of which none is sourced in Europe, with most being from Australia and the USA.{{cite news |last1=Leroux |first1=Marcus |title=Old King Coal makes a comeback in north west |work=The Times |date=17 November 2014|id={{ProQuest|1625304150}} }}This was before the SSI UK steelworks at Redcar closed in 2015, imports of coal have dropped in line with demand with supply from Canada stopping completely in 2015.{{cite web |title=UK coking coal imports by country 2002-2017 {{!}} Statistics |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/370688/coking-coal-imports-to-the-united-kingdom-by-country/ |website=statista.com |accessdate=13 July 2018}}

The Cumberland Coalfield was previously mined. Haig Colliery, the last deep coal mine in Cumbria, closed in 1986. The new mine would use former but extant tunnels from previous mining ventures for coal and anhydrite.{{cite web |last1=Lempriere |first1=Molly |title=Mining the UK - Mining Technology |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/features/mining-the-uk/ |website=mining-technology.com |accessdate=16 July 2018 |date=23 January 2018}} The mine head would be located on the former Marchon chemical works site close to Haig Colliery and the suburb of Woodhouse just south of Whitehaven town centre in Cumbria.{{cite news |last1=Vaughan |first1=Adam |title=Minister cites climate change in rejection of opencast coal mine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/23/minister-rejects-opencast-coal-mine-northumberland-citing-climate-change-fears |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=23 March 2018}}The Guardian article states that the proposed mine site is south of Kendal, but this is incorrect. A letter the following week by Marianne Kirkby amends this error.{{cite map|title =Whitehaven & Workington |map =303 |year =2015 |scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn =9780319245552 }} The proposal would be to mine the carboniferous coal seam up to a maximum depth of {{convert|550|m|0|order=flip}}.{{cite web |title=Hydrological and Hydrogeological Support for Proposed Metallurgical Coal Mine - ESI Consulting |url=https://esi-consulting.co.uk/our-work/minerals-waste/hydrological-hydrogeological-support-proposed-metallurgical-coal-mine/ |website=esi-consulting.co.uk |accessdate=16 July 2018}}

In 2017, a geological team were working offshore from St Bees Head drilling into the rock {{convert|25|m|order=flip}} below the sea bed to a depth of {{convert|600|m|order=flip}}. This will determine the quality of the coal and check for any geological conditions that could affect the planning of the mine.{{cite news |title=Plans on display for West Cumbria coking coal mine |url=http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/news/Plans-on-display-for-West-Cumbria-coking-coal-mine-f8c74662-6413-4597-a02a-6ef278f28a86-ds |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=Whitehaven News |date=23 June 2017}} On 8 September 2017 West Cumbria Mining's drilling contractors accidentally caused a methane leak in the Irish Sea. UK Coastguard said they were notified that drilling operations from a jack-up barge had struck a gas pocket approximately one nautical mile from St Bees Head.{{cite news |title=Mining crews hit gas pocket off Cumbrian coast |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/16750209.mining-crews-hit-gas-pocket-off-cumbrian-coast/ |work=News and Star |date=9 September 2017 |language=en}}

The mine is expected to have a life of 50 years and employ 500 workers with the possibility the area contains over {{convert|750,000,000|tonne}} of coal in its reserves.{{cite web |last1=Abbott |first1=Jez |title=Planners probe metallurgical coal {{!}} Mineral and Waste Planning |url=https://www.mineralandwasteplanning.co.uk/planners-probe-metallurgical-coal/industrial-minerals/article/1437022 |website=www.mineralandwasteplanning.co.uk |accessdate=16 July 2018 |date=20 June 2017}} 80% of the output from the mine has been promised to be railed out of the area to Redcar Bulk Terminal on Teesside for export. A conveyor would move the coal from the site to a loader {{convert|2.5|km|order=flip|0}} away.{{cite magazine |last1=Jones |first1=Ben |title=Coal traffic for Cumbrian coast? |magazine=The Railway Magazine |date=March 2018 |volume=164 |issue=1,404 |page=78 |publisher=Mortons Media |location=Horncastle |issn=0033-8923}} Trains would number up to six per day including Saturdays, though the company acknowledge that the increase in traffic on the railway would require signalling improvements on the Cumbrian Coast Line.{{cite news |last1=Bounds |first1=Andy |title=Global demand for coking coal set to revive Cumbria mining |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b054c570-528e-11e7-bfb8-997009366969 |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=Financial Times |date=19 June 2017|url-access=subscription }} Additionally, West Cumbria Mining have applied to install a solar farm on the estate that would cover {{convert|600|acre}} and provide 40% of the electricity needs of the mining operation.{{cite news |title=2019 start proposed for work on £165m undersea mine off West Cumbria coast |url=http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/2019-start-proposed-for-work-on-165m-undersea-mine-off-West-Cumbria-coast-b77d1b73-60b5-4583-a431-7fece884c53a-ds |accessdate=16 July 2018 |work=News and Star |date=23 April 2018}}

West Cumbria Mining is owned by EMR Capital, a company based in Australia that has injected over £20 million into the venture by June 2017. A further £200 million was projected to be spent in final testing, acquisition of rights and the implementation of the mine. The facility itself is expected to cost in the region of £165 million.{{cite news |last1=Lea |first1=Robert |title=First deep coal mine since 1980s approved |work=The Times |issue=72,799 |date=20 March 2019 |page=40|issn=0140-0460}}

The prospect of England's first new coal mine in over 30 years was first opposed by nuclear safety campaigners Radiation Free Lakeland with their slogan: 'Keep Cumbrian coal in the hole.{{cite news |last1=Birkby |first1=Marianne |title=Cumbrian coal must stay in the ground where it belongs {{!}} Letters |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/28/cumbrian-coal-must-stay-in-the-ground-where-it-belongs |accessdate=11 July 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=28 March 2018}}

The project was officially cancelled in 2025.

In March 2019, a meeting of Cumbria County Council's planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the project citing "the desperate need for jobs, particularly in deprived wards close to the proposed new mine". Green campaigners announced that they would launch a legal challenge. A spokesperson for South Lakes Action on Climate Change, said that the mine would "totally undermine Cumbria's chances of hitting emission targets".{{cite news |title=Whitehaven deep coal mine plan moves step closer |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-47629731 |accessdate=19 March 2019 |work=BBC News |date=19 March 2019}}

In November 2019, the government decided not to intervene in the appeals process and stated the "...[Cumbria County] Council should take the decision". Work on the site was expected to start in 2020, with coaling operations starting in 2022.{{cite news |title=First UK deep coal mine in decades to go ahead |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-50274212 |accessdate=7 November 2019 |work=BBC News |date=2 November 2019}}

In exercise of his powers under Article 31 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, directed the Council, in a letter dated 28 September 2020, not to grant permission to the West Cumbria Mining (WCM) application without specific authorisation.MHCLG PCU/RTI/H0900/3255949 dated 28 September 2020, which is available on the Cumbria County Council DC&R Committee database. The Council's Development Control and Regulation Committee were nevertheless reported to have approved West Cumbria Mining plans for the mine in October 2020 for a third time.{{Cite web|title=Exciting new plans and a major launch but soaring Covid-19 infection rates – what happened in October 2020|url=https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/18985087.exciting-new-plans-major-launch-soaring-covid-19-infection-rates---happened-october-2020/|access-date=7 January 2021|website=The Mail|date=5 January 2021 |language=en}}

In January 2021 Robert Jenrick refused the request of Cumbrian MP Tim Farron to "call in" the plans for review at national level.{{Cite news|date=6 January 2021|title=Whitehaven coal mine: Government refuses to call in plans|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-55561852|access-date=7 January 2021}}

In January 2021 the chair of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), Lord Deben, sent a letter to Jenrick rebuking him for allowing the planning permission to stand.{{Cite news|date=30 January 2021|title=Climate change: Minister rapped for allowing Cumbria coal mine|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55871503|access-date=30 January 2021}} The government responded that the decision not to call in the coal mine would not be reversed.

On 28 January 2021 the Coal Authority announced that on 18 January 2020 West Cumbria Mining had applied for, and been granted, an indefinite extension to the duration of two of their three Coal Authority licences, as both licences were due to run out on 24 January 2021.{{Cite web|date=6 May 2015|title=Status of UCG licences in west cumbria and discussions about them - a Freedom of Information request to The Coal Authority|url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/status_of_ucg_licences_in_west_c|access-date=31 January 2021|website=WhatDoTheyKnow|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Coal Mining Licence Applications|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coal-mining-licence-applications/coal-mining-licence-applications|access-date=31 January 2021|website=GOV.UK|language=en}}

On 9 February 2021 Cumbria County Council officers told West Cumbria Mining it had decided to return the planning application for Woodhouse Colliery back to their Development Control and Regulation Committee for re-determination.{{cite web|date=10 February 2021|title=WCM Press Release|url=https://www.westcumbriamining.com/company-news/wcm-press-release-10th-february-2021/|access-date=16 February 2021|website=West Cumbria Mining}}File:Official portrait of Robert Jenrick crop 2.jpg who initially refused requests to call in the plans for review.]]

In March 2021 Jenrick announced he was 'calling in' the planning application.{{cite news|date=11 March 2021|title=Robert Jenrick orders public inquiry into Cumbria coalmine|language=en|work=The Guardian|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/11/robert-jenrick-orders-public-inquiry-into-cumbria-coalmine|access-date=11 March 2021}} Jenrick's successor Michael Gove, as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, approved the application in December 2022,{{Cite news |date=7 December 2022 |title=First UK coal mine in decades approved despite climate concerns |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63892381 |access-date=28 March 2023 |work=BBC News}} although the decision was subject to legal challenges.

The mine would extract 2.7m tonnes of coking coal per year, which is used in steel-making. Around 85% of the coal is planned to be exported.

It is estimated that the coal extracted from the mine would emit 8.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. In 2019 the UK's total carbon emissions were 354 million tonnes. The UK Climate Change Committee chair Lord Deben has stated that "this is greater than the level of annual emissions we have projected from all open UK coalmines to 2050."{{Cite news|date=30 January 2021|title=Planned coalmine would create 'more emissions than any other in UK'|language=en|work=The Guardian|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/30/coal-mine-decision-gives-negative-impression-of-uks-climate-priorities|access-date=31 January 2021}}{{Cite web|date=7 January 2021|title=UK net zero commitment questioned, as government allows new coal mine|url=https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/01/07/uk-net-zero-commitment-questioned-as-government-allows-new-coal-mine/|access-date=25 January 2021|website=Climate Home News|language=en}}

Supporters of the mine have claimed that supplying coking coal for steel manufacture in the UK would reduce coal imports. West Cumbria Mining have projected the mine would create 500 jobs and said they would pay into a community fund for 10 years. A report by Cumbria Action For Sustainability 2021 however proposes the potential for green jobs for Cumbria as an alternative to the proposed mine. A Facebook page "We Support West Cumbria Mining" has been rallying local support to counter the protests from environmental groups.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-54393345|title=Whitehaven coal mine approved for third time|date=3 October 2020|work=BBC News}}{{cite news|date=30 January 2021|title=Climate change: Minister rapped for allowing Cumbria coal mine|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55871503}}

Some MPs, developing country experts, scientists, green campaigners and government advisers have criticised the mine.

Climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg criticised the approval of the mine stating: 'The UK government has decided not to intervene with the plans of opening a brand new English coal mine. This really shows the true meaning of so called "net zero 2050". These vague, insufficient targets long into the future basically mean nothing today.'{{Cite news|date=8 January 2021|title=Greta Thunberg criticises Whitehaven coal mine plan|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-55584873|access-date=25 January 2021}}

James Hansen, adjunct professor directing the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies stated approving the mine showed a "contemptuous disregard for the future of young people" and that "It shows they (the government) are really not serious," about climate change.{{Cite news|date=4 February 2021|title=Top climate scientist warns PM over 'contemptuous' Cumbria coal mine plan|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/04/top-climate-scientist-warns-pm-over-contemptuous-cumbria-coalmine-plan|access-date=4 February 2021|work=The Guardian|language=en}}

Prof Sir Robert Watson who has worked on atmospheric science issues including ozone depletion, global warming and paleoclimatology since the 1980s called the coal mine 'absolutely ridiculous'.{{Cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=20 February 2021 |title='Absolutely ridiculous': top scientist slams UK government over coalmine |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/20/absolutely-ridiculous-top-scientist-slams-uk-government-over-coalmine |access-date=20 February 2021 |issn=0261-3077}}

MP Tim Farron described the coal mine as a "complete disaster for our children's future". Greenpeace UK stated "claims that it will be carbon neutral are like claiming an oil rig is a wind turbine."

A climate change campaigner went on a 10 day hunger strike in protest in February 2020.{{Cite web |title=Teenage climate activists in week two of hunger strike over new Cumbria coal mine |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/teenage-climate-activists-week-two-173200431.html |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=uk.news.yahoo.com |date=18 January 2021 |language=en-GB}}

Mohamed Adow, winner of the Climate Breakthrough Award and director of the Power Shift Africa thinktank stated: "It's a bizarre and shocking decision. People in the developing world who are suffering from the effects of the climate crisis will be horrified. They are relying on the UK to be their champion on climate change and be an example, not returning to the dirty days of coal."{{Cite news |last=Harvey |first=Fiona |author-link=Fiona Harvey |date=5 February 2021 |title=Experts pile pressure on Boris Johnson over 'shocking' new coalmine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/05/experts-pile-pressure-on-boris-johnson-over-shocking-new-coalmine |access-date=5 February 2021 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

In February 2021, 40 Conservative Party MPs signed a letter to the local council's Labour leader urging them to approve the project.{{Cite news|date=18 February 2021|title=Cumbria coal mine: Tory MPs urge council to give plans the green light|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-56109690|access-date=19 February 2021}}

In August 2023, environmental direct action group Earth First! squatted the site for a week for their 2023 summer gathering, and called for the proposed mine to not go ahead.{{Cite news|date=31 August 2023|title=Whitehaven coal mine: Protesters occupy proposed site|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-66660518.amp}}

{{reflist}}

{{reflist|group="note"}}

• {{cite report|title=Woodhouse Colliery Planning Application Environmental Statement Non-Technical Summary|url=https://www.westcumbriamining.com/wp-content/uploads/WCM-Non-Technical-Summary-A4.pdf|year=2017|publisher=West Cumbria Mining|location=Whitehaven|ref={{Harvid|NTS|2017}} }}

• [https://www.westcumbriamining.com/wp-content/uploads/WCM_StakeholderBrochure.pdf WCM Stakeholder Brochure]
• [https://keepcumbriancoalinthehole.wordpress.com Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole webpage]
• [https://cafs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-potential-for-green-jobs-in-Cumbria-v4.pdf Cumbria Action for Sustainability Green Jobs in Cumbria report]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhouse Colliery}}

Category:Coal mines in England

Category:Mining in Cumbria

Category:Whitehaven

Category:Undersea collieries in the United Kingdom