West Cumbria coal mine protest held at proposed Whitehaven site

The fate of the West Cumbria Mining project had been hanging in the balance for two years after the local county council initially approved the mine in 2020

A protest has taken place at the proposed site of the UK's first major coal mine in more than 40 years.

The mine near Whitehaven in Cumbria would dig up coking coal for steel production in the UK and abroad.

Critics have said it would undermine climate targets and the demand for coking coal is declining, but supporters claim it would create jobs and reduce the need to import coal.

Dozens of opponents gathered to rally against the "deeply damaging mistake".

The project's approval was suspended in early 2021, ahead of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, after the government's climate change adviser said it would increase carbon emissions

Councillor Jill Perry, secretary of Allerdale and Copeland Green Party, said: "Well fundamentally this is about climate change - 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the air every year.

"[It's] a really dangerous thing to be doing at this time... we need to be acting at pace to reduce our climate emissions. This is going in the wrong direction."

Councillor Jill Perry said jobs were "important to Whitehaven" and pledged to help fight for green jobs

The project was initially approved by Cumbria County Council in 2020, but then there was a public inquiry and subsequent delays by the government over its fate.

It was given the green light by Communities Secretary Michael Gove who told the Commons on Thursday that the new coal mine would be "net zero".

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Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry has suggested he will keep a close eye on plans and told The Guardian he would be seeking information on the coal mine.

"Coal is not exactly the direction that the world is trying to move in, or needs to move in," he said.

Friends of the Earth said the decision was a "misguided and deeply damaging mistake that flies in the face of all the evidence"

Supporters argue the mine will create "well paid" jobs and reduce the need to import coal.

It is claimed the mine would create 500 skilled jobs, as well as potentially 1,500 more in the supply chain.

"It's a huge economic investment coming into the area," said Copeland's Conservative elected mayor, Mike Starkie.

The former Marchon chemical works on the outskirts of Whitehaven is the site of the proposed mine

Friends of the Earth campaigner Estelle Worthington, said: "Approving this mine is a really big mistake for the economy and the climate and for the steel industry.

"There are many other ways that we could be creating the jobs that west Cumbria needs."