My opposition to open cast coal mining at Dewley Hill

L-R: Jos Forester-Melville, Eileen Killen, and my constituent Helen Crowe at Dewley Hill 

I cannot support plans for a new open cast coal mine on our green belt land at Dewley Hill between Ponteland and Heddon. Details of my engagement with the local community and my letter to Newcastle City Council are set out below.

In the many years I have done this job as a candidate, and then as the MP, there have been 2 previous applications for local open cast mines in the Hexham Constituency. I was very involved in opposing both the application at Halton Lea Gate in the west, and Whitonstall more recently.

At Halton Lea Gate, myself and Councillor Ian Hutchinson have been working with the local community since 2008:

You can read my old blog post on this here and the article in relation to the second application in The Journal here. 

The open cast proposal at Whittonstall went to a public meeting at Snods Edge Village Hall before being rejected by the Northumberland County Council: You can read my blog post on this here and the subsequent article in The Journal here. 

For an overview of open cast mining locally, my wider views on this, and the need for companies to engage locally, and the planning process generally on open cast (find out more by clicking here). 

The Dewley Hill site really matters. It is on the greenbelt border between Newcastle and Northumberland. This is green belt that we have fought long and hard to protect over many years: whether that is the titanic struggle against Lugano at Birney Hill next to Dewley Hill, or at Clickenim Farm.

I recently met with members of the Defend Dewley Hill Action Group to discuss their planning, environmental and infrastructure concerns. They are rightly concerned that this is the wrong approach when we are doing so much as a country to tackle Climate Change. You can watch my video with local campaigner Helen Crowe below:



The site - adjacent to the B6323, and the A69 - and literally down the hill from the Birney Hill site, is currently green belt / green field land. The National Planning Policy Framework, the legislation which controls planning permits, says that only in very special circumstances can green belt be built on, or opencast coal extraction accepted.

If the opencast coal mine was to go ahead, it would be up to 67 meters deep, covering 50 hectares. It would lead to up to three years of coal mining, and see more than 100 lorries in and out of the site each day between 7am and 10pm to extract 800,000 tonnes of coal. Such an application has consequences on the local community.

The UK leads the world in tackling Climate Change, and the days of coal are numbered. Rather than new opencast mining of fossil fuels on the greenbelt, we need a cleaner, greener future increasingly powered by renewable energy.

It should also be noted that two previous planning applications at the site were rejected; one in 1994, and another in 1999.

I have written to Cllr Nick Forbes, Leader of Newcastle City Council, to voice my concerns and ask the Council to block this proposal. You can read a copy of my letter below:



As a country the UK has cut emissions by 40% since 1990, and we remain firmly on track to meet the target set by the Climate Change Act of 2008, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. Ultimately, however, the goal remains net zero carbon emissions.

In the Spring Statement last month, the government announced a series of measures to help tackle Climate Change. Most notably, a plan to stop fossil-fuel heating systems such as gas boilers being built in new houses from 2025. This is part of plans to cut the use of fossil fuels, with plans for the UK's remaining coal fired power stations to be shut by 2025.

If you want to find out more on what the government is doing to combat and address climate change and how the UK is leading the way, and more details of my approach go here:

For my part, I do not want to see a new opencast mine casting a shadow on our local communities and taking away the green belt between urban Newcastle and the Northumberland border at Ponteland. This would be bad planning policy, bad for our local environment, and the wrong approach to Climate Change.

If you object, as I do, have your say by April 20th (That's this Friday!) by clicking here. 

I accept some constituents are in favour. If they are in favour and want to have their say, then they should also make their views known. Newcastle City Council will consider the application in due course.   

Newcastle University leading the way on energy and sustainability with political engagement across the board

It was a pleasure to help Newcastle University as they organised their discussion forum at the Conservative Party Conference last Sunday. I was asked to act as ringmaster and chair on an all star panel of experts in the world of energy, energy security and climate change. The really impressive thing is that Newcastle Uni is reaching out as they do. For over an hour the experts took questions from the audience and discussed everything from energy security to nuclear power, from shale gas extraction, renewables and coal to the balance of energy provision amongst these competing capacities; the extent of subsidy, regulation and government interference was also discussed. Seen either side of me in the picture are Professor Richard Davies, and Professor Phil Taylor both of the university, whilst Siemens and the WWF were also represented. It was a pleasure to see the North East leading the way in the manner in which it is reaching out to the various party conferences and trying to create and then have meaningful debate on serious issues. The 2 professors are clearly gluttons for punishment as they had been representing the University the previous weeks at the Brighton labour conference and the Bournemouth liberal conference. It is not for me to say how they found the Manchester Conservative experience as compared to others, but there is no doubt that in a very broad debate they answered over 15 questions on a multitude of topics and all the panel are genuinely to be credited for engaging in this way.

Green Alliance meeting in the Commons - positive, and fascinating, as always

This week I met with Alastair Harper and Frieda Metternich of the Green Alliance to discuss everything from the Paris 2015 Climate Change summit to Air Pollution, shale gas extraction, community energy projects, and several of their more recent pamphlets, including their ideas for better resource productivity for a more resilient economy.

Going forward, if I had to recommend one pamphlet that assists, and which concerns myself, many members of my Hexham constituency and the wider world is their assessment of the UK Climate plan for 2015 leading up to the crucial Paris summit. I recommend it:  http://www.green-alliance.org.uk/a_uk_climate_plan_2015.php

I have worked with the Green Alliance for over 7 years. They are an outstanding organisation. I will be working with them more over the coming 6 months.

Climate Change Action Day in parliament - details of the debate with constituents and the issues raised

On Wednesday of last week I was delighted to meet with a number of my constituents who had travelled down to the House of Commons as part of the Climate Change lobby day.

It was an impressive turnout and I thank all those who came down from Northumberland to lobby me, as part of the countrywide "Fortheloveof" campaign. It is so important that, in a democracy like ours, people use their right to come to parliament and lobby their MP. I never forget that I work for you and I am always keen to hear from you. 

We discussed a variety of issues and it was good to be quizzed and tested on this crucial topic. One thing was clear: we all agreed that climate change is a fundamental issue and one that poses a great risk to our planet if not combatted. 

All of us accept that climate change is an issue that already affects us today, but one that will have grave consequences for future generations, unless concerted action is taken. We have a collective responsibility to do all we can now to tackle climate change for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

During the 50 minute session in Westminster Hall I took a large number of questions and addressed the Friends of the Earth 10 questions sent down by some of my constituents. On some issues we were in complete agreement, on some issue we differed. But all agreed that the December Paris Climate Change Summit is key to achieving long term gains. The key issue is getting a deal that all countries will sign up. I am confident that Europe will sign; the problem is the emerging economies of China and India and others who are reluctant to restrict their growth, and happy to take the jobs of employers like Alcan. 
  

This government understands the significance of the threat posed; I believe we are making real progress. We have a commitment to reduce our carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 and we are on track to do this. I agree, as was put to me on Wednesday that more needs to be done, but we are making progress. 

We are leading the way with the world’s first Green Investment Bank, an initiative which I strongly champion and one that can bring real benefits to both our economy and environment. 

It was put to me that this government needs to act conscientiously in encouraging a comprehensive deal at the Paris Summit this December and I agree. We need to continue to be leaders on this issue and do all we can to encourage countries to use cleaner power sources. 

It was a useful and informative discussion and I want to assure all those who came to meet with me that I take their questions, ideas and comments fully on board.


I received a variety of briefings from Friends of the Earth, Christian Aid, and individual constituents.
I will try and address these key issues, in brief, below:
1. UK commitment to keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees. I am fully supportive of the UK government's approach past and present leading up to the Paris Summit. The last Government grew the economy and cut our carbon emissions and I will campaign to ensure this Government will do the same. We saw a massive increase in investment in renewable energy, including the largest offshore wind market anywhere in the world between 2010-2015. The issue will be the extent of the negotiation and the potential agreed outcomes. I suspect the problem area is not the EU countries who have been leading the way.

2. I am urged to:
- back flood defences both here and abroad - I do wholeheartedly.
- Likewise I support the use of solar panels and have helped a solar innovator from Ponteland get access to wider and better markets, taking them to DECC and supporting their business in whatever way possible.
- On coal there is cross party agreement on the reduction of reliance on coal, and my role in the campaigns on the local Halton Lea Gate and Whittonstall open cast applications is widely known and fully set out on the blog.

3.  FOE want me to oppose roadbuilding like the dualling of the A69 and A1
- I disagree, and will continue to campaign for both the A1 and A69 to be dualled.
- Likewise I disagree on the issue of shale gas extraction. The House of Commons in the spring of 2015 passed a highly detailed position between after extensive debate amongst MP of all the parties, as to the need for extraction under highly regulated rules and with extraction to be carried out in an environmentally safe way. This was after extensive debate for over 6 months in the Commons and the Lords as part of the Infrastructure Bill.
What is clear is that we can no  longer rely upon Russian or Ukrainian gas, and that North Sea Oil and Gas reserves are dwindling. We need a mixed energy supply, but preferably home grown, and I support what President Obama has done to promote shale gas extraction in the USA. Its affect on the cost of living, on  energy security, business costs and the repatriation of jobs has been remarkable in the USA.

4. I am a huge supporter of the various schemes for warmer homes and actively support the oil buying clubs and am helping set up the Tynedale Community Bank to help such schemes locally. On biomass, DRHI and the ECO and Green Deal I am working flat out with local suppliers, and DECC, to ensure their success and the expansive of more fuel efficient homes with a lower carbon footprint.

5. At the meeting we had an extensive discussion as to nuclear power, which I support. We discussed at length the change in views on nuclear, and whether this is deemed a clean or acceptable form of energy supply going forward.

6. We discussed the new tidal barrage in Swansea that the Secretary of State has just authorised and committed massive subsidy to - whilst at the same time phasing out on shore wind subsidies from May 2016:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/11663518/Swansea-Bay-tidal-energy-lagoon-gets-green-light-from-Amber-Rudd.html

I have not answered every question raised but will attempt to do so going forward but hope that this sets out the bare bones of the discussion, the debate and the areas of agreement and disagreement going forward.