Friends of the Earth reacts to council withdrawing support for Whitehaven coal

Cumbria County Council has shared its Statement of Case a day ahead of the Planning Inspector's deadline, now saying it is neutral with regard to the mine: neither for or against the application.

Estelle Worthington, North West campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: 

“Once again, we see support for this controversial coal mine continue to fall by the wayside.”

“This only strengthens our position that it should never have been in the pipeline in the first place. We can fight both the climate crisis and unemployment by directing support to industries such as renewable energy.

“Now, as the time for public comments draws to a close, the case for dirty coal is at its weakest, both locally and nationally. Let’s put an to end this climate hypocrisy once and for all and leave Cumbrian coal in the ground.”