Mr Justice Holgate said the plans for a brand new coal mine are 'legally flawed'
Mr Justice Holgate said in a ruling on Friday that granting planning permission for the development at Whitehaven in Cumbria would be "legally flawed". Climate campaign group Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change took legal action over the decision made by the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government which was led by Michael Gove when it was granted planning permission in 2022.
It was also told the Government had accepted approximately 15% of coal would be used domestically. When permission was granted in 2022, the Government withdrew its defence of the claim after the July General Election. James Strachan KC, for WCM, said the arguments in the legal challenge were "poorly disguised attacks on the planning judgments made by the inspector and the secretary of state", and that the net-zero aspect of the project would be positive.
Niall Toru, senior lawyer at FoE, said: "That the ruling today has gone against the mining company could have ramifications internationally, as there are cases abroad where challenges are being made against fossil fuel projects on a very similar basis. Duncan Pollard, a trustee at SLACC, said: "It is now doubly clear that fossil fuel companies cannot ignore the combustion emissions caused by the use of their oil, gas or coal, or rely on simplistic claims that a new coal mine will have zero impact on global emissions.
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