A SOUTH Lakes charity have committed to their endeavour of following legal action in a bid to stop a new coal mine coming to west Cumbria.

Following a meeting of trustees from the South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC), a unanimous decision was made (January 8) for their legal team to challenge Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove's decision to grant planning permission for the Woodhouse Colliery, Whitehaven. 

The charity have been fundraising to help with legal costs, so far just under £30,000 has been raised of an initial £50,000 target.

Maggie Mason from SLACC, said: “This latest decision by Michael Gove is shot through with errors in law, and the two charities are perfectly within their rights to point that out. Comments from donors to SLACC's CrowdJustice page make it very clear that they are shocked by the decision, especially the way it ignores the carbon emissions from using the coal. This is a precedent which could have global effects and our donors totally support us in our challenge whether we win or lose,” she said.

The charity believe there is a strong legal case against the interpretation of planning law made by the planning inspector and the Government in this case.

Friends of the Earth is also taking legal action against the UK government following Gove’s decision on December 8.

READ MORE: Mayor says legal challenge to stop coal mine is 'futile'

Backers argue however, 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.

The news follows at a similar time the polemical environmental group Extinction Rebellion (XR) dropped a large banner from Westminster Bridge in London that reads ‘APRIL 21: UNITE TO SURVIVE’ (January 11).

The action officially launches Extinction Rebellion’s ‘100 Days’ campaign – the biggest mobilisation campaign XR has ever undertaken. The campaign plans to bring 100,000 people to outside the Houses on Parliament on April 21.

Dr. Caroline Vincent of Scientists for XR, said: “Disruptive protest has done so much to change the conversation around the climate and ecological emergency over the last 4 years; more and more people are waking up to realities of the climate crisis, and more and more are saying they want immediate and decisive action.

"The reality is however, that as the general public becomes more concerned, the government in the UK backtracks on its already meagre climate promises, sanctioning a new coal mine in Cumbria at the end of 2022. So, the government isn’t listening and the only way that changes is by all of these newly concerned people recognising their own power and stepping into active resistance.

 

"At the same time, the Government is clamping down on the right to protest and criminalising those raising the alarm. In the current circumstances it’s clear that only larger numbers of people taking peaceful action together over prolonged periods will prove impossible to ignore," she said. 

READ MORE: Charity fundraising to stop coal mine decision from going ahead