The High Court in London ruled today that former communities secretary Sajid Javid gave too much weight to the impact of climate change when he refused planning permission for a new coal mine in Northumberland.
Javid denied mining company HJ Banks & Co planning permission for a mine on the coast at Dudridge Bay, south-east Northumberland in March this year.
His refusal was based on “the very considerable weight he gave to the adverse effects of the emission of greenhouse gases,” according to a judgment today.
The mine is estimated to contain three millions tonnes of coal. The mining company plans to take seven years to extract it, and then return the land to ecological and agricultural use.
Both the local council and a government planning inspector had recommended giving the project planning permission.
In today’s ruling, judge Mr Justice Ouseley found that the minister’s reasoning was “significantly inadequate” because he failed to square the country’s need for energy with the nature of the Highthorn project, which would create less greenhouse gas than imported coal.
“The secretary of state accepted that there was a need for the coal to meet the UK’s energy needs, and a window in which the Highthorn coal would be used for that purpose,” he said.
“He also concluded that there would be savings in [greenhouse gas] emissions compared to the burning of imported coal. He accepted that the extraction of the coal would not encourage its use by lowering its price relative to sources.
“What the secretary of state had to explain, on those findings, was how a proposal needed for the country’s energy could be refused on the basis of the adverse impact of [greenhouse gas] emissions unless the gas was filled by renewables of low carbon sources.”
As he didn’t do this, the judge said, the minister’s decision refusing permission must be quashed and sent back to the current minister for reconsideration.
This case, the ruling said, highlights the quandary that mining companies find themselves in, as all their proposals may come up against an “insurmountable obstacle” even though there isn’t an explicit policy to stop coal mining in the UK.
H J Banks & Company Ltd v Secretary Of State for Housing Communities and Local Government, Planning Court (Ouseley J) 23 November 2018
