The issues

Landscapes and biodiversity
Open cast mines scar the landscape for years at a time, often in areas of prime agricultural land which is vital at a time of declining food security. Some mines have been well restored and are now thriving habitats, but even the best schemes can't put our carbon-storing farmland and wildlife habitats neatly in place without displacing the original landscape and wildlife. There is also an alarming tendency for coal companies to delay restoration plans in the hope of convincing local councils the sites would be better off developed as industrial parks or warehouses. 

The next major opencast decision is expected on 16 September, when Leicestershire could lose 130 hectares of National Forest and suffer damage to their only Special Area of Conservation (SAC), the River Mease. The SAC is a European designation based on the international importance of the rare species supported by this habitat, including rare fish, vegetation, birds, badgers and otters. The landscape, while not outstanding, is a vital resource for local people, being one of the few areas of rural landscape to have survived centuries of mining in the area and providing popular walks in relative tranquillity away from the A42.

Communities
All the local inquiries CPRE have been involved in show that local communities are overwhelmingly against new opencast mines due to the noise, pollution and disruption which harm the health and recreation of residents. Valuable local green space is lost and replaced with noise, dust and heavy traffic, and when mines are near towns they can make opportunities for urban regeneration less attractive for investors, cancelling out any jobs provided by the mine.  

Emissions and economics
The coalition Government has said that proven ‘clean coal’ technology like CCS (Carbon capture and storage) will be the only way for coal to remain a part of the long-term energy mix. They have also acknowledged that this is some way off, suggesting that investment might be better off channelled into renewables. The Government has also indicated that cheaper natural gas (now the main fuel for electricity generation) and a programme of energy efficiency measures, renewables and existing coal supplies can more than adequately ‘keep the lights on’. 

In the case of the current Minorca application in Leicestershire – the coal extracted there would be burned at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station as a "top-up", taking only 40-60 days to burn and equating to only two months power for almost five years of environmental destruction. There are no plans to install Carbon Capture technology at Ratcliffe.

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