Opencast mines given green light

Scottish Coal has applied for three new opencast mines

Controversial plans for three opencast mines have been given the go-ahead by South Lanarkshire Council.

Councillors approved the plans after receiving more than 900 objections and more than 500 letters of support.

Scottish Coal said the mines at North and South Brokencross and Poneil, on the outskirts of Douglas village, will benefit the local community.

Environmentalists have called for a public inquiry and claim it will add to the pollution of existing mines.

With applications for two large wind farms nearby also in the pipeline, local residents said their community was being placed under siege by the energy industry.

Objector Lindsay Addison, of Douglas Community Council, said: "The day-to-day impacts will be noise, dust and clearly the vandalism that is going to be created to our landscape round about us.

It is a cumulative environmental injustice where one small area is asked to put up with blasting, traffic, noise and dust Duncan McLaren Friends of the Earth Scotland

"Beyond that, it's relentless. It's day after day for years."

Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said local people had already faced more than a decade of the impact of opencast mining and called for a full public inquiry.

He added: "These proposals will extend that to 30 years.

"It is a cumulative environmental injustice where one small area is asked to put up with blasting, traffic, noise and dust.

"Addressing all three applications together at an inquiry is the way the full detrimental and cumulative impact of these plans on locals can be taken account of."

Local Green MSP Chris Ballance expressed his "complete solidarity" with the objectors.

He said: "South Lanarkshire Council's decision shows a complete disregard for the strongly held objections of thousands of local people and is entirely at odds with Scottish Executive guidelines which clearly state that with regard to opencast mining, the presumption should always be against.

These planning consents come as a great relief to our members working in the mining industry in South Lanarkshire Jim Walls T&G

"This shameful decision is further proof that we need to legislate to create a third party right of appeal to help protect communities like Douglas."

Scottish Coal said the plans will develop two existing sites at Brokencross and safeguard almost 300 mining jobs until at least 2020.

Its development director Dacre Purchase welcomed the council's decision.

He said: "It is significant that there were no objections from the statutory consultees to any of our proposals, demonstrating that we have been thorough in every aspect.

"We have listened to local people, altered our plans accordingly and are keen to continue dialogue to ensure that the recent positive community relations are maintained.

"What these consents do is protect existing jobs thereby protecting local communities and their economies.

"Further coal jobs will be created as the new sites come on stream with the opportunity for more jobs and economic benefits in the commercial property development."

Employment boost

The mine workers' senior shop steward of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) Jim Walls claimed the announcement was a major boost for his members.

He said: "These planning consents come as a great relief to our members working in the mining industry in South Lanarkshire.

"They can now sleep easier at night knowing their jobs are safe for the foreseeable future, and that they can continue to play a part in a competitive company providing energy to meet the nation's needs.

"We now look forward to working with local communities, of which many of the workers are members, as we have done in the past to ensure that benefits are passed on."