Skip to content

Dipton opencast mine: Government to review planning permission

Campaign to Protect Pont Valley Defendants and supporters outside courtCampaign to Protect Pont Valley
Campaigners claim the decision not to revoke the company's mining permit was flawed

The government is to review the future of a County Durham opencast site at the centre of environmental protests.

Banks Mining was given permission to extract 500,000-tonnes of coal from Pont Valley, near Dipton, in April.

Several protesters have been fined for blocking access, claiming the site was home to a rare newt.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire has agreed to consider whether the planning permission should be revoked.

The move comes after campaigners lobbied for a fresh look at the planning application process.

Campaigner June Davison, who lives near the site, said: "The Secretary of State can't repair the damage that has been done here, but the least he can do is stop it getting worse."

A spokesman for Banks Mining said: "We do not believe there would be any justification for the revocation of the planning permission that was granted to the scheme through the appropriate processes."