UK Coal plc Selling Off Prospective Opencast Sites?

THE LOOSE ANTI OPEN-CAST NETWORK

IS UK COAL’S FINANCIAL SITUATION SO BAD THAT IT IS TRYING TO SELL OPENCAST SITES FOR WHICH IT IS TRYING TO GAIN PLANNING PERMISSION?

LAON PR2012 -6 8/8/12

New evidence has come to light about the perilous financial state of UK Coal plc that has a direct bearing on all those groups in the network who are currently opposing an opencast planning application from UK Coal.

The Company is still in financial trouble. In the first three months of this year its level of debt was increasing at a rate of £5m a month. Meanwhile, world-wide coal prices have fallen over 20% year on year, further putting pressure on UK Coal’s finances. In the midst of all this, as part of the Company’s restructuring programme, it is seeking to off load £430m of its pension debt onto the publically backed Pension Protection Fund as part of its plan to make its debt manageable in the future. Big question marks still hang over whether this Company can survive, restore sites that are not protected by a Restoration Bond and provide the Community Benefits promised if planning permission is gained.

What is new is that in February the Company put eight new sites up for sale, without any publicity and without informing share holders. Each of these sites was in the Company’s five year development plan. The sites up for sale include sites already in the planning process and are suspected to be Bradley, Hoodsclose and Shortwood Farm. This is more evidence that for these sites, Restoration bonds are needed, whilst local people now face the prospect of a more complex system of local management for the operation of these sites should planning permission be granted.

In order to deal with their financial predicament, losing an estimated £5m per month in the first three months of 2012, already £54m in debt to the banks and £80m in debt to Generating Companies plus running a pension scheme with a £875m pension liability, the Company announced that it was to undergo a major restructuring in order to limit the degree of financial risk that different parts of the Company are exposed to. The property side is to be financially separated from the mining side, whilst it seems the mining side is to consist of four separate companies, one for each of the remaining deep mines and one for surface mine activities.

Since the Interim Manage Statement in May, UK Coal’s share price has slid from 13p to a new low of 7.5p. As their interim 2011 results are due on Friday it will be of great interest to see if the Company is still leaking money on its operational activities or whether it has begun to be profitable again.

A full list of potential Opencast Sites in England, with the most recent news stories for July follows plus an additional news item on a proposed Welsh site

REVIEW OF INFORMATION ON ENGLISH OPENCAST SITES AND ONE WELSH SITE ACTIVELY UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR JULY 2012

NEW 2012 SERIES: No 3 AUGUST 2012

The way to read each entry is as follows:

Site Name, Location, Planning Authority, Position in the Planning System (either Scoping Inquiry, Application Submitted, Application Approved) and the name of the Applicant / Operator.

BIRKLANDS, (nr .Marley Hill, Gateshead), (Gateshead: Reference No DC/11/00687/MIN) (Application) (Hall Construction Services)

‘Opencast, the threat returns’ (local action group) (no date)
Not a news story, but an on line petition that can be signed to show opposition to open casting at this proposed 275,000 tonne site. See

 http://www.savebirklands.org.uk/

You can read this application and still make comments here:
 http://public.gateshead.gov.uk/online-

applications/simpleSearchResults.do;jsessionid=DE0DA6F1C3739817D51414835242B0FC?action=firstPage

BRADLEY (nr. Consett) (Co Durham) (Judicial Review) (UK Coal)
No news on if and when the Judicial Review will begin. The Planning Inspectorate has yet to decide on whether it is to contest the Judicial Review.
There is a possibility that this is one of the sites that UK Coal put up for sale in February 2012

DEARNE LEA, WEST CLAYTON (S.E. of Huddersfield) (Kirklees Council: Reference No. 2012/62/9113/ED) (Application) (George Harrison Ltd)

‘Village group concerned about lack of opposition to Clayton West open cast mining plan’ (Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 14/7/12)

News report on SCAG’s concerns over the Application and the lack of awareness about what an opencast mining operation is like for the local community. To help inform local people they have published old photos of what happened 60 years ago when the area last had an opencast mine operating. See

 http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2012/07/14/village-group-concerned-about-lack-of-opposition-to-clayton-west-open-cast-mining-plan-86081-31391548/

‘Clayton West open-cast mine boss defends plans against residents fears’ (Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 19/7/12)

George Harrison responds to critics by saying:

: “There’s no evidence that the dust will be an issue. We will put dust-monitoring equipment on site and we will monitor the situation daily.The site is probably a mile-and-a- half from Clayton West and the prevailing wind goes towards High Hoyland.Dust will not be a problem at all.”

The Applicant is hosting an open evening at which residents can discuss the proposal with residents. See

 http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2011/07/19/clayton-west-open-cast-mine-boss-defends-plan-against-residents-fears-86081-29077923/#ixzz21kzyx0nz

‘Mine will benefit area’ (Barnsley Chronicle, Darton Edition, 28/7/12)

The agent for George Harrison refutes claims about the development scarring the landscape. (Only part of the article available on the web). See

 http://www.barnsley-chronicle.co.uk/news/article/5390/mine-will-benefit-area
To contact the Skelmansthorpe Communituy Action Group see:
 http://www.skelmanthorpeaction.org.uk/contact.html

For more details on the Application and the possibility to make a comment go to:
 http://www2.kirklees.gov.uk/business/planning/application_search/detail.aspx?id=2012/91131

FERNEYBEDS, WIDDRINGTON STATION (8 miles NW of Ashington) (Northumberland County Council) (Scoping Inquiry) (Banks Group)

‘Widdrington villagers split over new opencast application’ (The Journal 20/6/12)
I had previously said this about this news story to do with this site

“Ironically, given the title of the article, it only relays the opinion of one local person who supports the Application. See

 http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2012/06/20/widdrington-villagers-split-over-new-opencast-application-61634-31219984/”

As has been pointed out by John Carpenter, this is a two page article and opposing views are covered on page two.

GEORGE FARM (nr. Smalley, Derbyshire) (Derbyshire County Council: Ref No. CM6/1110/112) (Application) (LEM Resources)

For more details on the Application and the possibility to make a comment go to:

 http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/environment/planning/planning_applications/current_applications/application_details/app-details.asp?AppCode=CM6/1110/112&AppType=2

The Smalley Action Group has now set up a petition where you can register your objection to the Application. See

 http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Smalley-opencast/

HAGUE FARM (?) off Hague Lane nr Renishaw, Derbyshire

UK Coal has put this site up for sale. The particulars indicate that they are seeking a partner to help ‘develop’ (work the site as a surface mine) within 5 years. Site particulars are available here @

 http://www.smithsgore.co.uk/property-for-sale-land-and-energy-portfolio-2320120

HALTON LEA GATE (c 5 miles SW of Haltwhistle) (Northumberland County Council) (Public Inquiry) (HM Developments)

HM Developments plan to mine 140,000 tonnes of coal
Awaiting the result of a Public Inquiry on this application, held in May 2012

HELL LANE, nr Normanton, Wakefield, Sth Yorkshire

UK Coal has put this site up for sale. The particulars indicate that they are seeking a partner to help ‘develop’ (work the site as a surface mine) within 5 years. Site particulars are available here @

 http://www.smithsgore.co.uk/property-for-sale-south-yorkshire-2320118

HILLTOP PROJECT (nr. Clay Cross, Derbyshire) (Derbyshire County Council) ( Scoping Inquiry) (Provectus Remediation)

Provectus Remediation have indicated that they are intending to submit a plan to mine 130,000 tonnes of coal from a 30 hectare site over a 30 month period.
To keep in touch with the protest campaign, go to

 http://hilltopproject.com/

HOODSCLOSE Whittonstall (Northumberland County Council) (Application) (UK Coal)

UK Coal hopes to extract 2.2m tonnes of coal and 500,000 tonnes of fireclay over a seven year period. The Scoping Inquiry state began soon after August 2009 with an application following in 2010. This is still a live application. UK Coal have now put this site up for sale and are looking for an investor to help develop the site.

‘Lorries add their sound to protest’ (Hexham Courant, 23/7/12)

A news report on a successful public meeting held by the Whittonstall Action Group on 21/7/12 to further raise awareness about the threat, explain their objections and to persuade people to write in their objections. During the presentation of their objections, every five minutes the sound effects of lorries passing interrupted the proceedings as noise pollution is one of the main worries in this tranquil setting. See

 http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk/news/news-at-a-glance/lorries-add-their-sound-to-protest-1.978138?referrerPath=home/2.3307

For details about the sale particulars see

 http://www.smithsgore.co.uk/property-for-sale-northumberland-2320117

You can find further information and make a make a comment here:
 http://publicaccess.northumberland.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do;jsessionid=2BC579DC2A201F65967E36E99DD92B3A?action=firstPage

You can also contact the Whittonstall Action Group here:

 http://www.whittonstallactiongroup.co.uk/who.php

THE JAMES BRIDGE COPPER FOUNDRY / PHOENIX 10 (Walsall) (Walsall Metropolitan Council / Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership) (Expression of Interest) (Parkhill Estates).

Personal correspondence from Walsall Council confirms that coal is present on the site and the amount is not yet known.

“However this is not the driver of, but more a product of, the proposed remediation of the site”, which makes it sound more like a windfall category rather than a full scale opencast site. Unless news is gained to the contrary, this site will be removed from the list.

MINORCA NORTH (Leicestershire, Leicestershire County Council, UK Coal, Amount of estimated coal reserves not published, Stage: Exploratory Drilling)

The Minorca Opencast Protest Group, through my research has now found out that in February, UK Coal had applied for a licence from the Coal Authority undertake exploratory drilling to assess the coal reserves available on land adjacent to the current Minorca site. This site they are calling Minorca North. News stories on this follow.

‘Anger as firm set to drill for coal’ (Leicester Mercury, 28/7/11)

A news story on the fact that UK Coal is to further explore the extent of the coal reserves immediately adjacent to the current Minorca Opencast mine. The Company had taken this step after ensuring that three ‘Good Neighbour’ stories appeared in local papers about how they were going to work with the local community on operating the new Minorca Surface Mine site. However they had failed to inform the new Liaison Committee of their intention to drill until a researcher (me) exposed the information. See

 http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Anger-firm-set-drill-coal/story-16609336-detail/story.html

SCHOOLHOUSE LANE off A692 nr Marley Hill , Co Durham

UK Coal has put this site up for sale. The particulars indicate that they are seeking a partner to help ‘develop’ (work the site as a surface mine) within 5 years. Site particulars are available here @

 http://www.findaproperty.com/investment/property-10856569

SHORTWOOD FARM (Trowell, nr Nottingham, Nottinghamshire) (Application) (UK Coal)

UK Coal has applied to mine 1,275,000 tonnes of coal over a 5yr period on a Greenfield site.

‘MP to debate double threat ‘, (Eastwood and Kimberly Advertiser, 10/7/12)
The Shortwood Farm Opencast Application is one of two threats to greenbelt land in Nottinghamshire that local MP Anna Soubry is bringing to the floor of the House of Commons in an Adjournment Debate on Friday 13/7/12. See

 http://www.eastwoodadvertiser.co.uk/news/eastwood-kimberley-news/mp-to-debate-double-threat-1-4724153

To send a letter opposing this application, go to:
 http://www.trowell.org.uk/shortwood-open-cast-mining-application-letter-writing-campaign/out

There is now a local group formed to oppose this application, the Shortwood Farm Opencast Opposition. It is contactable via  soco.opencast@gmail.com

To find out more about the Application see:

 http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/planningsearch/plandisp.aspx?AppNo=ES/2569

TYNE BREWERY, NEWCASTLE, (Newcastle City Council, Approval, Hall Construction)

‘Newcastle to be first city with opencast coal mine’, (Newcastle Chronicle, 32/7/12)
It seems that Newcastle City Council has approved a redevelopment plan located near to St James Park Football Ground to develop a 25 acre site for Green Energy after 45,000 tonnes of coal have been extracted. See

 http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/communities/newcastle/2012/07/31/newcastle-to-be-first-city-with-open-cast-coal-mine-72703-31513246/

The only previous news story I can find on this is:

‘Opencast mine dug in city centre’, Newcastle Chronicle, 4/11/12) See

 http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/10/04/opencast-mine-dug-in-newcastle-city-centre-72703-29534205/

As this is an approved application it will not appear again on this list.

MARLEY HILL COLLIERY RECLAMATION (Sunnyside, Gateshead (Co Durham also affected), (Scoping Enquiry) (UK Coal)

No recent news about this proposed development

WELL HILL FARM, STANNINGTON (nr Morpeth) (Northumberland County Council) (Application) (Hargreaves Services)

No new information is available about this possible site.

For more information on this application and the possibility of making a comment go to

 http://publicaccess.northumberland.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage

NEWS ON A NEW WELSH POTENTIAL APPLICATION

NANT LLESG, GWENT

‘Group to fight plans for Nant Llesg coalmine’ (South Wales Argus 24/7/12)

Surface Miner Miller Argent have announced their intention to submit a planning application for a 9.0m tonne opencast site at Nant Llesg, This is a site near to Caerphilly and the infamous Ffos-y-Fran site. A local group, the Green Valleys alliance has already been formed to oppose any such application.

If you have news about developments at any of the above sites, or you have news of any new sites not included in this list then please contact LAON at  infoatlaon@yahoo.com, which is also the address for contacting LAON.

The Loose Anti-Opencast Network (LAON) has been in existence since 2009. It functions as a medium through to oppose open cast mine applications, through which any person / group can communicate ideas, information, requests for information and possibly concerted actions if we find a target. In addition feel free to invite any other person / group who oppose opencast mining applications, to join the network so that it grows. At present LAON links individuals and groups in N Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northumberland, Co Durham, Leeds, Kirklees Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Walsall.

You can read our 1st press release on potential sites here on the Coal Action Network Site :
 http://coalaction.org.uk/?p=721

You can read our 2nd press release on potential sites here:

 http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/2557