Druridge Bay, Highthorn opencast coal mine

In September 2016, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government called-in an application by Banks Mining to extract 3 million tonnes of coal and other minerals at Highthorn, Northumberland adjacent to Druridge Bay. The local planning authority had approved the proposal. After a lengthy inquiry and High Court challenge, the Secretary of State refused planning permission on 8 September 2020.

In October 2015, Banks & Co Ltd, an opencast coal mining company, applied for planning permission to extract around 3 million tonnes of coal and other minerals from a site at Highthorn, Northumberland adjacent to Druridge Bay, a seven-mile unspoilt stretch of the northeast coast. The local planning authority, Northumberland County Council, resolved to grant planning permission. Save Druridge, a local community group, (soon to be represented by Richard Buxton Solicitors) wrote to the Secretary of State requesting that the application be called in for the government to determine the application.

The Secretary of State subsequently called-in the matter for his own determination in September 2016. Richard Buxton Solicitors were instructed in November 2016 to represent Save Druridge at the planning inquiry. The inquiry proceeded over 3 weeks in June 2017 and formally closed in August 2017. The Inspector hearing the application recommended approval, but against this recommendation the Secretary of State refused permission in his first decision letter of 22 March 2018 on the basis of concerns about landscape and adverse impact on climate change. This decision was subsequently quashed by the High Court in a judgment of 23.11.18 on the basis that the Secretary of State failed to provide adequate reasons for his decision.

The Secretary of State then reviewed the application including updated information and provided a further decision on 8 September 2020. He again refused planning permission on the basis: (a) of the substantial adverse impact on landscape and the overall harm to the character and appearance of the area and (b) that having regard to s. 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008 to reach net zero by 2050 and that, overall, the proposal would not have national, local or community benefits such as to outweigh the presumption against granting permission for the extraction of coal.