OK, so its not Nottinghamshire but UK Coal have just submitted a planning application for an open cast coal mine in the middle of the National Forest! These people obviously have no compuction in destroying anything they can to get at coal. To quote the national forest website: “a new forest in the heart of England. It covers a large part of north west Leicestershire as well as areas within Staffordshire and Derbyshire. Newly planted trees blend with existing woodland to create stunning landscapes and wildlife habitats.” They have planted 7 million trees already but what is the point if vandals like UK Coal can come along and just rip them out of the ground? OK, so they say they will reinstate but that mine will be there scaring the landscape for 4.5 years – a massive hole in the ground 1.5 miles long and half a mile wide, extracting 1.25 million tonnes of coal and 250,000 tonnes of clay. The residents of nearby villages of Measham and Swepstone will have their lives ruined 12 hours a day for 5 days a week and a further 6 hours on Saturday to produce more climate destroying coal. NANC supports the good people of Leicestershire in their fight against this blot on the landscape and destroyer of the climate. And remember folks, open cast mining could be coming near you. Leicestershire today Nottinghamshire tomorrow?
