Villagers vow to fight mine plan

UK Coal said it would listen to the villagers' concerns

Residents in a Leicestershire village have vowed to fight plans for an open cast mine in the National Forest.

The site between Measham and Swepstone would extract more than a million and a quarter tonnes of coal over five years.

While the plans are at an early stage, protesters have claimed the mine would wreck the local landscape and choke the roads with lorries.

UK Coal said it would listen to residents' concerns but coal was still a vital part of UK power supply.

Pollution fears

Residents have said the mine will extract 1.25 million tonnes of coal and 250,000 tonnes of clay over four and a half years, with the site taking 20 years to recover.

Resident Philip Pratt said: "Without going into all of the details, just having a massive hole a mile long by half a mile wide 400 yards away from a 10-year-old housing estate is a major concern.

"Another worry is the public health question, with all the dust and noise pollution and there a lot of young children on the estate who are facing years of disruption."

He added: "We are going to have four or five years disruption very close to residential property for probably about three months of coal, which strikes me as a big price to pay."

Protest Group

Stuart Oliver, of UK Coal, said the residents' views would play an important part in the planning process.

"It is our responsibility to address those concerns, to listen to what they have to say and to make sure whatever concerns they have are addressed in the terms and conditions which would apply to any consent that we may secure for mining this coal."

Villagers have said they will form a protest group to bring pressure to bear.

Another UK Coal open cast mine at Long Moor, near Ravenstone, has been producing coal for almost a year, following a High Court decision that there was no legal reason to stop it.