October date for Cumbria coal mine legal challenge

October date for Cumbria coal mine legal challenge

Two legal challenges to the government’s decision to grant planning permission for a controversial new coal mine in West Cumbria will be heard 24-26 October, the High Court has said.

The challenges by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) will take place over three days in a ‘rolled up’ hearing. In practice this is the same as a trial, in that the court is expected to allow each claimant to argue its case in full.

Friends of the Earth lawyer, Niall Toru, said:

“We have a strong case against the decision to grant planning permission for this coal mine and look forward to setting it out before the court in October. The Secretary of State made a number of significant climate-related errors in allowing this mine to proceed which we believe makes his decision unlawful.“

Carole Wood, Chair of SLACC, said:

“I am very glad that the court has decided to set aside three days in October for this hearing. Michael Gove’s rationale for approving a new UK coal mine, that would extract and export coal until 2050, was seriously flawed, and involves issues of national and international importance that must be examined.”