CAMPAIGNERS fighting a proposed opencast mine in Measham need to look at the ʻbigger pictureʼ and the positives it could bring, supporters say.
Backers of the Ashby Canal project say the long-term benefits of the Minorca site, off Gallows Lane, would outweigh the ‘short-term inconvenience’ to residents.
UK Coal is hoping to recover about 1.25 million tonnes of coal and 250,000 tonnes of fireclay at the site over four-and-a-half years.
The company has vowed to pump significant funds into delivering the next stretch of Ashby Canal between Snarestone and Illott Wharf, to the south of Measham.
Works could include a winter storage lake, along with the use of clay to puddle the base and sides of the canal.
Minorca project manager Anton Fix (pictured) said: “The early delivery of this project would provide a major boost to this area and the National Forest in particular.”
Ashby Canal supporters have now gone vocal in their support for Minorca and say it would provide a ‘major boost’ towards securing a funding package.
Gerald Box, who lives in Appleby Magna, said: “We will not get a better offer. UK Coal has promised substantial help in getting the canal as far as Illott Wharf.
“I think we need to look at the bigger picture and the constraints the public purse is under. People in Measham are starting to share that view.”
The Ashby Canal Trust, which is overseeing the restoration from Moira to Snarestone, says it understands the ‘short-term’ fears of villagers about Minorca.
However, it says the proposals to assist the canal restoration will provide ‘significant community benefit to help offset’ these concerns.
It is not clear how much money UK Coal is planning to invest in the canal, but it is thought to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Canal Trust chairman Brian Waring said: “The restoration of the canal from Snarestone to Measham already has Government approval and full planning permission, land agreements are in place and it is ready to proceed as soon as the funding can be secured.
“The ‘in-kind’ and financial benefits available from the opencast site will be a major boost to assembling a funding package.
“Of course, we have to be sure that the benefits for the canal must be confirmed either through legal planning conditions, planning obligations, or by some other enforceable written agreement between the parties concerned.”
Leicestershire County Council will decide whether Minorca should be given the green light in the coming months.