New coal mining sites will extract 1m tonnes

Proposals have been unveiled to extract a million additional tonnes of coal at two North East surface mines .

Banks Mining have been operating the surface mines in Shotton in Northumberland and Brenkley Lane in Newcastle since 2008 and 2010 respectively.

The company has now identified a new three hectare area at the Brenkley Lane site which it hopes will yield over 400,000 tonnes of coal.

Two new areas have also been located in the south west corner and the western site of the Shotton site, t extracting up to 550,000 tonnes of coal.

The Brenkley Lane work would not require any extension of the site’s current operational timescale, with the site still set to be completely restored by the end of 2021.

The additional work would require a 12 month extension to the lifetime of the Shotton site, with coaling completed by October 2017 and full restoration carried out by October 2019.

Planning applications for both sites are expected to be submitted to Northumberland County Council and Newcastle City Council in the next few weeks.

The second new area at Shotton, titled the ‘Shotton Triangle’ will have further surveying work carried out on it before a detailed proposal is worked up.

Mark Dowdall, Banks’ environment and community director, said: “The Brenkley Lane and Shotton surface mines operate in a safe, responsible and efficient way, and enable us to make significant, long-term contributions to both the local and wider regional economies which we want to develop even further.

“Coal will remain a central part of the UK’s energy mix for the foreseeable future, with production from appropriate domestic sites being far more desirable than relying on imports for environmental, economic and supply continuity reasons, and the additional work we’re looking to undertake at these two sites will enable us to continue our long-term investment in local jobs, the local supply chain and local communities.”

The two surface mines currently contribute approximately £20m to the North East economy every year.

The sites already contribute more than £400,000 in business rates every year, and if the additional areas are granted planning permission, Banks could continue its support for local facilities through its Banks Community Fund.

The fund has already seen £700,000 given to groups and good causes in Northumberland over the last nine years.

The firm has maintained an operational presence in the area for more than three decades, and recently instigated a new apprenticeship scheme which has seen four local young people join its plant maintenance team at the Shotton and Brenkley Lane mines..

Public exhibitions are now set to be held for each scheme, with the Brenkley Additional proposals going on show between 3pm and 7pm on Tuesday 23 April at Dinnington Social Club, and the Shotton plans following between the same times at Stannington Village Hall on Thursday 25 April.

Banks’ representatives will be available at both events to discuss the details of the proposals as they currently stand, and to answer any questions that visitors might have about them.

Mark Dowdall said: “We know that taking an inclusive, consultative approach to development is the best way to operate for everyone concerned, and the initial discussions we have held with community representatives over recent months about these schemes has been very positive indeed.

“We now want to share our plans with the wider community, so we can gather feedback from them and answer any immediate queries they might have about them, and hope that as many local people as possible will be able to attend the forthcoming public exhibitions.”