Website: Minorca Opencast Protest Group
Address: http://www.mopg.co.uk/
MINORCA Opencast Protest Group (MOPG) has featured in The Mail many times recently.
The group was founded in opposition to, and is leading the campaign against plans to create an opencast mine on the former Minorca site off Gallows Lane, Measham.
The opencast plan is a hot topic in the North West Leicestershire community, with the most recent article about the scheme on The Mail’s website proving to be one of the most commented upon stories of recent times.
The frontpage of the group’s website features photographs of the site as it looks now, and a few introductory paragraphs about the background to the scheme and the MOPG.
The group has launched a vigorous campaign against the opencast plan and you can find all its recent press releases here.
Those seeking more in-depth information can view a paper; Coal, Collusion and Communities; written by MOPG chairman Steve Leary, which examines in detail the recent successful attempts by coal operators in winning appeals for opencast schemes around the UK.
The site also includes a lengthy FAQ (frequently asked questions) page with detailed answers to some commonly-asked questions about the Minorca application, while a busy links page directs visitors to other protest groups and sites with more general information about coal.
Visitors can also contact MOPG via an online comments form, or leave a message on the site’s guestbook.
This site wouldn’t win any design awards; at times it appears quiet chaotic with mixtures of different fonts and the dreaded ‘under construction’ banner.
However, it is by definition a short-term project (assuming the arguments don’t drag on for years) and it serves its purpose in acting as a central online resource for people interested in the opencast scheme and the protest group.
With a decision on the application expected to be taken by Leicestershire County Council in the new year, MOPG will no doubt be happy to see its ‘raison d’etre’ vanish and to be able to wind itself up.
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