About our Cumbria Coal Mine news
Latest news on the proposed first new coal mine in the UK in 30 years, the West Cumbria Mining project near Whitehaven in Cumbria.
The proposed mine in Cumbria, Woodhouse Colliery, would extract coking coal for steel production in the UK and overseas. Critics argued that the mine would undermine climate targets and demand for coking coal is falling, while supporters claimed that the mine would create jobs and reduce the need to import coal.
The project was proposed by West Cumbria Mining Ltd., a privately owned UK company, based in West Cumbria, that aimed to produce high quality metallurgical coal (also known as coking coal) for the steel industry at home and in Europe. The project involved extracting 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal a year from under the sea near Whitehaven in a ‘deep’ coal mine. The coal is predominantly for export and would be consumed by the steel industry. Only up to 17% of the coal was expected to be used in the UK.
p>In September 2024, the UK High Court ruled that plans to build the factory in Whitehaven, Cumbria, would not proceed, with Judge Justice Holgate stating that environmental assumptions underpinning the development were 'legally flawed.' The facility had earlier received government approval in December 2022 under then-Communities Secretary Michael Gove.