A CUMBRIAN charity is fundraising to help towards its efforts of pursuing legal action against the Whitehaven coal mine decision.

South Lakeland Against Climate Change (SLACC) are considering whether or not to go forward with a statutory review after the Woodhouse Colliery was given the green light by Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove on December 8.

So far the group has raised £27,800 of the £50,000 target, which will be used to help cover legal fees.

The underground mine near Whitehaven is expected to extract nearly 2.8 million tonnes of coal per year for use in steelmaking, rather than power generation.

Backers argue it will create around 500 jobs for the area and will save on having to import energy at a time of high prices, with fuel prices having rocketed as a result of the Ukraine war.

Mike Starkie, mayor of Copeland, said: “It’s going to create a lot of opportunity for people in diversified work.

"It’s going to bring a lot more wealth and prosperity into the area and it is genuine levelling-up in action.

“The more diverse the opportunities are, we’ve got more chance of keeping young people in the area and attracting people into the area.

"It’s an all-round good news story.”

But Maggie Mason from SLACC, who is also a former planner for Cumbria County Council, said there has been a number of 'questionable' decisions made by the planning inspector, supported by Gove, which must be addressed under 'a fair and lawful review'.

"The trouble is no-one can reverse the decision," she said. "The only way a planning permission like this can be reversed is by a legal challenge.

"Nobody can ever be confident we will be successful because we put really good evidence forward for the public enquiry. It's astonishing that some of the evidence, from experts, seems to have been completely ignored. 

"For us the biggest issue is the climate impacts of the mine. Any case of coal extraction is meant to demonstrate that the benefits of the mine significantly outweigh the impacts.

"There's quite a lot of environmental impacts, but let's look at the biggest one, this coal when used in making steal would release 220,000,000 million tonnes of Co2 emissions over 25 years of the mine.

"Both the planning inspector and Michael Gove mention that figure, but they don't count any of it. They say West Cumbria mining doesn't have control over those emissions.

"We say that's a ridiculous and totally unlawful argument - to say an extracting company doesn't have to count the environmental impact from the use of their coal because they can't control that - it's absurd and that's just one of the issues." 

READ MORE: Why is the new Cumbrian coal mine so controversial?

Ms Mason said they were 'encouraged' by the donations that had come in so far, the decision whether or not to pursue legal action will remain in the charity's trustees hands, which will be decided tomorrow (January 5).

Friends of the Earth action 

Friends of the Earth is also taking legal action against the UK government following its recent decision to grant planning permission for a new coal mine in Cumbria, the environmental group has revealed today.

Niall Toru, lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said: "By giving the go-ahead to this polluting and totally unnecessary coal mine the government has not only made the wrong decision for our economy and the climate, we believe it has also acted unlawfully.

"Michael Gove has failed to account for the significant climate impacts of this mine, or how the much-needed move to green steelmaking will be impacted by its approval.

"The steel industry is under no illusion that it must decarbonise if we’re to meet our climate goals, which calls into doubt the long-term viability of the mine and the jobs used to justify it.

"Just as many jobs could be created locally through a programme to guarantee every home in the area is properly insulated.

"This would bring a myriad of benefits the mine simply can’t offer, such as lower energy bills, warmer homes and fewer carbon emissions released into our atmosphere.

"With the world facing a climate emergency, we shouldn’t have to take this challenge to court.

"Any sensible government should be choosing to leave coal in the ground, and accelerating the transition to a safe, clean and sustainable future," he said.

READ MORE: 33 per cent think Cumbrian coal mine is right decision, YouGov survey