Campaigners have celebrated the end of opencast mining in County Durham’s Pont Valley with a rain-soaked community picnic.
In August 2020 the Bradley Mine closed for good after plans to expand the site were rejected.
Now around 12 residents of Dipton, Leadgate, and the surrounding area have gathered on the site of the former opencast coal site.
Read more: Woman's life 'smashed into million pieces' after losing fiance to rare AstraZeneca vaccine reaction
The group raised a glass of champagne to celebrate on Saturday, June 26.
Local resident June Davison said: "We sheltered under one of the trees that was saved from the Banks Group's opencast coal mine today for a celebratory picnic because the company has finally stopped coaling in our valley.
“Banks' restoration plan will not 'put the land back' but at least now it can begin its slow recovery, and has been prevented from further damage because we stopped the mine extending down the valley."
Banks Mining wanted to extend the Bradley mine at Leadgate, County Durham, to extract an extra 90,000 tonnes of coal from the site and 20,000 tonnes of fireclay from 18.5 hectares of land.
But the proposal was fiercely opposed by campaigners and received more than 6,000 letters of objections, with Extinction Rebellion also holding a three-day protest at the site.
Durham County Council’s planning committee rejected the application at a meeting last year despite planners recommending it for approval.
At the time Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at The Banks Group, said they were “extremely disappointed” with the decision, saying it had “had handed much-needed jobs to Russian miners”.
Representatives from the Banks Group had tried to argue the plans would protect jobs on the site and support British industry by providing an alternative to imported coal from America, Russia or Australia.
They also argued the ‘small extension’ would have ‘minimal effects’ on the surrounding area, which was backed by some members of the committee.
