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A controversial new coal mine planned for Cumbria appears to have been suspended.
Local government secretary Robert Jenrick had previously refused to intervene, but said late Thursday that he would take responsibility for the plan away from the local authority.
A notice from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government sent to the Cumbria County Council said the cabinet minister was “calling” the planning request.
He cited “new developments” since Jenrick last considered the case, including a new report from the independent Committee on Climate Change, which advises the government on emissions targets.
The letter, sent by an anonymous official on behalf of Jenrick, said that “proponents and opponents take different positions” on the committee’s recommendation to reduce demand for carbon-intensive activities and expand low-carbon solutions, but that these should be investigated by a public inquiry.
The controversy over the coal mine “has increased,” the letter also said, adding that Jenrick “sees this application as raising planning issues of more importance than local.”
The investigation will be handled by the planning inspection and the Cumbria County Council was asked to provide information on how the coal mine, planned for near Whitehaven, would be “consistent” with “meeting the challenge of climate change, floods and coastal change “.
Government sources denied the move was a U-turn, but Mark Jenkinson, the Conservative MP from nearby Workington, approached the WhatsApp group of Conservative MPs to dispute it.
In messages seen by The Guardian, he called the decision a “remarkable change” and a “total change” from the previous position, adding that it was a “kick in the teeth for ministers and parliamentarians who repeated the position of the secretary of state. on local decision making ”.
Another Conservative MP from the north agreed, calling it “another U-turn.”
But Greenpeace called it “fantastic news and definitely better late than never.” And Friends of the Earth added that it was a “surprising but very welcome U-turn,” and urged the government to refuse permission for the project.
Ministers have previously been criticized for not blocking the coal mine, particularly given that the UK will host COP26, the UN climate summit, in November.
Just a few weeks ago, one of the country’s most eminent environmental scientists, Sir Robert Watson, said it was “absolutely ridiculous” for the government to refuse to act.
James Hansen, one of the world’s leading voices on climate, also warned Boris Johnson that letting the mine continue would lead to “ignominy and humiliation” for the UK. He said the plans for the mine showed a “disdainful disregard for the future of young people.”
Sir David King, a former chief scientific adviser, said Hansen “put it very well” and called the government’s decision a “big mistake.”
Alok Sharma, the former business secretary in charge of organizing Cop26, was also said to have been furious at the decision to let the project proceed.
If it goes ahead, the underground mine would be the UK’s first in 30 years. Supporters of the £ 165 million project say it would provide 500 jobs in one of the country’s most deprived areas.
Forty Conservative MPs had written to the county council leader warning him that stopping the mine “would pose a serious risk to Cumbria’s economic growth.”
The council approved the mine, called Woodhouse Colliery, in October. Jenrick was then urged to call to apply, but he declined.
