MP confirms opposition to opencast

KEITH BULL

MEASHAM would struggle to escape from the doom and gloom of the recession if an opencast mine was given the go-ahead, it has been claimed.



North West Leicestershire MP David Taylor made the gloomy prediction during a protest meeting against UK Coal's bid to extract 1.25 million tonnes of coal and 250,000 tonnes of clay from the Minorca site off Gallows Lane.

Mr Taylor told the meeting, attended by more than 200 residents, that protesters would need to prove that the mine would have a negative impact on the environment, health and safety as well as the area's economic and social outlook.

He said noise and dust, along with the loss of flora and fauna, would provide 'a strong case' against development on environmental grounds.

Dust and additional traffic movements will form the backbone of the health and safety argument, the long term opponent of opencast mining claimed.

On the economy, he said: "One of the significant characters of the area was the low levels of unemployment in North West Leicestershire and Leicestershire. They have doubled in the last 18 months due to the recession.

"If we continue to have opencasting, it will be most environmentally despoiling and will be a significant negative for future economic recovery and growth.

"I think enough is enough in terms of opencasting in this area."

Mr Taylor launched a rallying call, saying that with 'tenacity, enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism', the battle could be won. He and those opposed to the plans are feeling 'mildly optimistic' that Leicestershire County Council will reject the application.

Should that happen, it is expected UK Coal will appeal the decision, and an inquiry would be held in summer 2010.

Packington Parish Council chairman Chris Miles warned: "It is going to be a long and hard battle." Fears were raised at the meeting not just about extraction, but what would happen to the site once mining had been completed.

MOPG chairman Steve Leary said: "Whilst the coal is in the ground the land is safe from development. Once the coal is out then the genie is out of the bottle.

"In the medium to long-term, this might be an attractive site for development and all the area east of the current limit of Measham, along Leicester Road-Swepstone Road down to Bosworth Road, becomes unprotected." UK Coal is currently operating the Long Moor opencast site in Ravenstone, just four miles away from Measham.

Ravenstone Parish councillor Ian Mellor said that Leicestershire County Council has a policy that only one opencast mine should operate in defined areas.

However, Mr Taylor said he believes the company would finish at Long Moor before moving to Measham to avoid running into difficulties.