Banks Group announced on Monday that they wish to extend the planning application at the Bradley opencast site, in County Durham. This announcement came on the same day that James Brokenshire was due to announce whether he would revoke the planning permission for this opencast mine.
Handing over our petition to end opencast coal for good
Local resident Liam Carr “We always feared this day would come. Once again Banks have shown contempt for the views of residents and a complete disregard for our local environment. This was a controversial development from the start. Durham County Council must recognise this and look very carefully at any application to extend mine further into the countryside”
That Banks are arrogantly pursuing these new plans while the communities secretary considered the original planning application is another example of their behaviour. This extension is flying in the face of public opinion. It is really clear that people in that area do not want an opencast coal mine, never mind an extension to it. Their commitment to protecting the local area and reducing climate change should be celebrated and followed by all public officials involved in decision making on this case.
