Government pulls defence of Cumbria mine legal challenges
- Move follows historic Horse Hill Supreme Court ruling last month
- Ministers won’t defend next week’s legal challenges by Friends of the Earth and SLACC
The government has admitted a controversial new coal mine in Cumbria was permitted unlawfully following a landmark ruling in the Supreme Court last month.
The Secretary of State (SoS) for Housing, Communities and Local Government says there was an “error in law” in the decision to grant planning permission for the mine in December 2022. Consequently, the government will not now be defending two legal challenges next week (16-18 July) against the mine [1] – by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) – and has instead informed the court that the decision to grant planning permission should be quashed. If that is agreed by the court, the planning application will go back to the Secretary of State to make a fresh decision.
The government’s move follows the result of the Supreme Court's recent judgement on the “Finch v Surrey County Council'' case [2] which ruled that emissions from burning fossil fuels must be considered in planning applications for new extraction projects - not just the impacts of the emissions produced in extracting them.
It is now clear that the combustion emissions from the inevitable burning of the Cumbrian coal should have been assessed in the developer’s climate assessment.
The two legal challenges to the previous decision to grant planning permission for the mine are still expected to take place [3] at the Royal Courts of Justice on the 16th July – unless West Cumbria Mining also concedes the case [4].
Friends of the Earth climate co-ordinator, Jamie Peters, said:
“We’re delighted the government agrees that planning permission for this destructive, polluting and unnecessary coal mine was unlawfully granted and that it should be quashed. We hope the court agrees, and that the mine is then rejected when the Secretary of State reconsiders the application.
“Friends of the Earth will continue to stand alongside SLACC and the other community groups in Cumbria who have fought so bravely to halt this mine.
“The new government must now ensure that areas like West Cumbria get the jobs and investment they urgently need so that people living there can reap the benefits of building a clean, green and affordable future.”
Maggie Mason of SLACC said:
“We argued throughout the Inquiry and this legal claim that the emissions from using the coal were not properly assessed and it is great to see this acknowledged. Our small charity has opposed the mine because of its harmful impacts on the local and global climate, and the appalling precedent created by West Cumbria Mining’s claim that a new coal mine doesn’t increase the global use of coal.
“Building the mine on an old chemical site close to homes and the Irish Sea was also risky. West Cumbrians deserve jobs that don’t cost the earth”.
Rowan Smith, solicitor at Leigh Day (assisted by solicitor Julia Eriksen) said:
“Our client is delighted that the government has agreed to settle this case and recognised that the law is now crystal clear: the climate change impact of the inevitable release of greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels must be assessed before they are extracted. That did not happen when planning permission was granted for the Whitehaven Coal Mine, and the government now accepts that omission was unlawful. Any claims that the mine would be net zero, which our client argues was wrong in any event given a misunderstanding by the then Secretary of State as to how carbon credits could offset emissions, are now completely unsustainable.”
ENDS
Notes:
- Friends of the Earth coal mine briefing: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/whitehaven-coal-mine-destructive-and-unnecessary
- A summary of SLACC’s legal case is available here: https://www.richardbuxton.co.uk/case/challenge-to-cumbria-coal-mine/
- The High Court will hear two legal challenges to the government’s decision to grant planning permission for a controversial new coal mine in West Cumbria. The challenges by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) will take place over three days (16-18 July). The organisations were the two main parties opposing the coal mine at the planning inquiry which took place in September 2021.
- On Thursday 20 June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that Surrey County Council acted unlawfully by giving planning permission for oil production at Horse Hill in the Surrey countryside without considering the climate impacts of when the oil is inevitably burned. The landmark judgment followed a legal challenge brought by former Surrey resident Sarah Finch, on behalf of the Weald Action Group, and supported from the start by Friends of the Earth as a legal intervener: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/horse-hill-historic-win-supreme-court-upholds-land mark-climate-case
- The legal challenges against the coal mine will still proceed, because only the court can determine the lawfulness of the original decision and whether or not planning permission should be quashed. If planning permission is quashed, the case is returned to the government for reconsideration.
- It is not yet clear whether West Cumbria Mining – the developer – is going to defend the original decision, or whether they will join other parties to the case in signing a Draft Consent Order compiled by the SoS.
- Friends of the Earth is represented in the legal challenge by barristers Paul Brown KC, Toby Fisher and Alex Shattock, and by Rowan Smith and Julia Eriksen at the law firm Leigh Day. The in-house lawyers at Friends of the Earth are Niall Toru and Katie de Kauwe. SLACC is represented by barristers Estelle Dehon KC and Rowan Clapp, of Cornerstone Barristers, and by Matthew McFeeley and Holly Law at Richard Buxton Solicitors.
- About Friends of the Earth: Friends of the Earth is an international community dedicated to the protection of the natural world and the wellbeing of everyone in it. We bring together more than two million people in 75 countries, combining people power all over the world to transform local actions into global impact. For more information visit: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/ follow us at @friends_earth, or like our Facebook page. Save paper and send an e-card today, available at http://foe.uk/ecogifting
- About SLACC: South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) is a small charity based in Kendal, Cumbria and is part of the Transition Town Network, bringing together those who want to act to address the climate and ecological crisis. It aims to decrease local dependence on fossil fuels, reduce carbon emissions, and build resilience in key areas such as economics, energy, transport and food. For more information visit: www.slacc.org.uk and follow @slacctt