PRESS NOTICE Coal mine accused of undemocratic secrecy and conflict of interest.
9th January 2024
Cumbrian Coal Mine accused of “undemocratic secrecy” and “conflict of interest” over new licence applications.
Pages from the highly redacted Licence Applications by West Cumbria Mining to the Coal Authority who are sponsored by the Dept of Energy Security and Net Zero . DESNZ are also sponsors of the Government’s Committee on Radioactive Waste Management whose key advisor on construction and investigation techniques for a sub-sea Geological Disposal Facility for high level nuclear wastes is …. Mark Kirkbride CEO of West Cumbria Mining.
NO LICENCE TO DRILL
The “conditional licences” for Woodhouse Colliery, Onshore, North and South lapsed in October 2022. Now the developers West Cumbria Mining have put in applications for three new conditional licences but, say campaigners at Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole (a Radiation Free Lakeland campaign) these are so heavily redacted from public view that alarm bells are ringing loud and clear.
CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SELLAFIELD
Funds were raised in 2020 to support a legal challenge from “campaigners who remain concerned, not only about fossil fuel extraction but also about the close proximity of the coal mine to Sellafield’s stockpiles of plutonium and high level nuclear wastes just five miles away”.
LEGAL CHALLENGE TO ORIGINAL THERMAL COAL PLAN
The challenge by anti-nuclear campaigners resulted in delays to the developers plans and say campaigners “forced WCM to change their intentions to begin mining in 2019.” Thermal coal would also originally have been part of the mix rather than the now proposed 100% metallurgical or coking coal
PUBLIC SCRUTINY DENIED AT “SHAM” PUBLIC INQUIRY
Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole are urging the Coal Authority not to give West Cumbria Mining a licence to drill but instead to allow the public sight of the licence applications which says the founder of Radiation Free Lakeland, Mrs Marianne Bennett (also known as artist Marianne Birkby) should have been made fully available to public scrutiny at the time of the “sham” public inquiry of 2021. The redacted licence applications have only recently gone online and are contrary to the Coal Authority’s and Governments pledge for “greater transparency across its operations to enable the public to hold public bodies and politicians to account”
Redactions from West Cumbria Mining’s Licence Applications include :
• The Corporate Structure of the Applicant (WCM).
• Surface Position of Faults within WCM’s Onshore Licence Area Application. • Surface and Underground Boreholes Which Intersect Coal Seams (Onshore). • Bannock and Main Band Seam Depth Maps, including Major Structures
• Target Seam Sections in the Primary Offshore Mining Area.
• Surface and Underground Boreholes Intersecting Coal Seams (North)
• Details of Target Seam Sections in the Primary Offshore Mining Area
TUNNELLING ABOVE OLD ANHYDRITE MINE
Campaigners say that WCM’s claim in the Licence Application that “planned seam workings will maintain an 80m standoff from historic coal workings and should not affect these old workings” is “pie in the sky.” They point out that there are no assurances given by WCM as to how this 80m distance would be achievable. WCM’s intention is to use the old anhydrite mine above Whitehaven as an access and then mine new drifts to new coal seams above the old anhydrite mine. Campaigners have requested sight of how WCM would achieve their assurance that they would not mine within 80 metres of old mine workings given the use of the old anhydrite mine as access and use of highly automated equipment including tunnel boring machines.
ANTI-NUCLEAR CAMPAIGNERS FIRST TO RAISE COAL MINE ALARM
Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole say that “anti-nuclear campaigners must have had a premonition about this mine, we were first to oppose in 2017 while unaware that the CEO of the coal mine plan, Mark Kirkbride was to be appointed in 2019 as key advisor in the Government’s Committee on Radioactive Waste Management”. CoRWM is advising Nuclear Waste Services on their plans for the Geological Disposal of High level nuclear wastes in a vast sub-sea mine 1000 metres deep and 25km square. A key area in the frame is the area which houses Sellafield off the Cumberland coast and adjacent to Mark Kirkbride’s coal mine.
NEARLY 2000 PEOPLE CALL FOR COAL BOSS MARK KIRKBRIDE TO BE REMOVED FROM NUCLEAR DUMP ADVISORY ROLE
A petition has been delivered via Tim Farron MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero urging them to remove Mark Kirkbride as advisor to Government. The reply from Andrew Bowie MP on behalf of DESNZ claims that there is no conflict of interest between Kirkbride’s position as Government Advisor at CoRWM and his business intersts which require Government approval of his coal mine Licence Applications.
Andrew Bowie MP said the “false claims” amounted to “harrassment” of Mark Kirkbride because there is “no link” bestween the coal mine and the GDF (deep nuclear dump). There is “no link” despite the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero being responsible for both the appointment of Mark Kirkbride as GDF (nuclear dump) advisor with CoRWM and for Government sponsorship of the Coal Authority who are now due to make a decision on whether or not Mark Kirkbride will be granted his licence to drill.
ENDS
contact: Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole, Marianne Bennett – (contacts supplied)
References:
Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole https://keepcumbriancoalinthehole.wordpress.com/
Radiation Free Lakeland https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/
Woodhouse Colliery Licence Applications – Redacted https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coal-mining-licence-applications/coal-mining- licence-applications
Vindication for campaigner fighting plan for deep coal mine in West Cumbria https://www.leighday.co.uk/news/news/2020-news/vindication-for-campaigner-fighting- plan-for-deep-coal-mine-in-west-cumbria/
Mark Kirkbride – CoRWM https://www.gov.uk/government/people/mark-kirkbridg
Andrew Bowie MP reply to Petition urging removal of Mark Kirkbride from CoRWM sent via Tim Farron MP 8th January 2024
“CoRWM is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). Its purpose is to provide independent scrutiny and advice on the long-term management of radioactive waste. Appointments to CoRWM are made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. All appointments are made on merit. A key focus of CoRWM’s work is to provide independent evidence-based advice to ministers, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Nuclear Waste Services on proposals, plans and programmes to deliver geological disposal for the UK’s most hazardous radioactive waste. It is precisely because of Mr Mark Kirkbride’s expertise in mining that he was recruited to CoRWM. A GDF will be an engineered facility deep underground comprising a series of vaults and tunnels, not dissimilar in certain respects to a mine.” “There is no link between the proposed mine in West Cumbria and the process to identify a suitable location for a GDF”
Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole 
Sorry the link above doesn’t work for the licence applications – try this one https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coal-mining-licence-applications/coal-mining-licence-applications
The Coal Authority can be written to here urging them not to give West Cumbria Mining a licence to drill https://www2.groundstability.com/contact/
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