Scottish Coal accused of environmental rape Plans for four huge new

COMMUNITIES living in one of Scotland's most ravaged rural areas are fighting plans for four huge new opencast coal mines which they describe as environmental vandalism which flies in the face of guidelines proposed by the Scottish Executive.

Scottish Coal has applied for planning permission to develop three mines around the villages of Douglas and Rigside in South Lanarkshire.

The local landowner, Douglas and Angus Estates, is planning a fourth mine in a few years' time.

But the area already has three working opencast mines, another massive defunct mine, a sand and gravel pit, a peat extraction site and three old coal bings. Local residents feel betrayed by what they see as "the rape and environmental vandalism of our beautiful and historic countryside".

The Executive has just completed consultations on draft new planning guidelines suggesting there should be a presumption against the digging of opencast mines in areas blighted by old mines.

No community should have to endure "a disproportionate burden of negative environmental impacts", it says.

The guidelines, however, are being vigorously opposed by Scottish Coal on the grounds that they will "jeopardise Scottish energy jobs and the future of home-produced coal". New mines in the Douglas valley are vital to protect jobs and reduce imports of foreign coal, the company argues.

But this is rejected by residents, who blame mining operations for polluting the air and endangering health. "Our health and welfare has been drastically affected for more than 20 years by opencast mining in and around the Douglas valley, " said Lindsay Addison, chairman of Douglas Community Council.

"And we have next to nothing to show for it - except for sleepless nights due to the noise, the dust permeating the atmosphere and covering everything in fine black layers and constant diesel fumes."

Attempts to restore the land after mines closed were poor and resulted in a "moonscape", he argued. The new mines would destroy woodlands, wildlife and an attractive landscape, as well as damage tourism in an area with important historical monuments.

"The developers of this type of industry put their own personal private profit before all else, " Addison said. "They seem to conveniently forget that the communities in the Douglas valley are made up of families who have lived their lives here and depend on the sustainability of their local environment."

Scottish Coal is planning to excavate a large new area northwest of Douglas village, known as Poniel/Long Plantation, most of which is in a designated area of scenic beauty. The company has also put in two applications to extend the nearby Broken Cross opencast mine, one to the north and one to the south.

All three applications are expected to be considered by South Lanarkshire Council early next year. In addition Douglas and Angus Estates, which is owned by the family of the former Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas Home, has said that it may dig out the coal under Mainshill Wood in the future.

The estate's agent, Henry Birch, stressed that work at Mainshill wouldn't start until Scottish Coal had ceased mining other sites in the immediate vicinity. "I quite understand everybody's concerns, " he said. "Opencast mining is a very emotive subject."

He pointed out that in the past money from coal mining had been used to build a swimming pool in the local village of Coalburn, but there had been no benefits to other communities. "We have asked Scottish Coal what they can do to soften the blow and they are considering it, " he said.

Scottish Coal argued that the new mines would help protect and build on the jobs of 286 workers. The three proposed sites would produce nearly five million tonnes of coal, the company said, and would be accompanied by a major commercial property development at Poniel.

There was no evidence that opencast mines caused health damage, and environmental concerns were taken very seriously, the company said. To avoid having to transport coal by lorry through communities, it had installed a 7.2 kilometre conveyor belt at the Glentaggart mine, near Glespin.

"We believe that coal and the environment can coexist in Scotland, " said Dacre Purchase, Scottish Coal development director. "We adhere to all regulations governing the industry, which are amongst the strictest in the world and we restore all ex-sites to a high standard."

He added: "It makes no environmental sense to import more coal from thousands of miles around the globe on ships belching emissions from burning low grade fuel oil, when we already have a wellrun and highly efficient coal industry here in Scotland which provides real jobs in our rural communities."

Environmentalists, however, oppose the new mines, and strongly back the Executive's proposed planning guidelines.

"Communities deserve to be protected from the cumulative impact of dumps, quarries and opencast operations, " said Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland.

"The communities of the Douglas valley have had to put up with enough disruption over the years. One of the reasons they've put up with so much opencasting was a belief that certain areas were offlimits to the opencasters. This pledge has been ripped up and so it is little wonder that they now feel betrayed."

The schemes are also being opposed by a newly formed local action group, Upperward Against Pollution. "If the planners of South Lanarkshire recommend approval for this inordinate amount of development, the quality of life in the Douglas valley will become intolerable, " said the group's chairman, Adam Lawson.

www. scotland. gov. uk/ consultations/planning/ occd-00. asp www. scottishcoal. co. uk www. foe-scotland. org. uk

Copyright 2004 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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