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Huge plan to drill for coal in Warwickshire countryside put on ice after protests

Plan shelved to drill deep under an area of countryside the size of Coventry

Controversial plans to burn coal under a huge swathe of Warwickshire countryside have been shelved.

London-based Cluff Natural Resources applied for a licence to explore the county’s underground coal fields last summer.

Concerned campaigners launched a protest group to fight the proposal which could have created an undergound fuel supply for a power station.

The area at risk was roughly the size as Coventry and stretched from Ryton-on-Dunsmore, through Bubbenhall, Weston-under-Wetherley, Hunningham, Princethorpe and Marton.

Cluff wanted to investigate the county’s potential as a site for experimental underground coal gasification (UCG) - a technique which involves drilling underground and burning coal there before extracting resulting gases to fuel a purpose-built station on the surface.

But officials at Warwickshire County Council have now confirmed Cluff has written to them to say it intends to turn attention to other parts of the UK.

The council said the letter from Cluff came after the authority contacted the company to inform them that UCG was not an option it would be interested in allowing in the county.

Coun Izzi Seccombe, leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “The council responded to Cluff to state that this was not an option that they were interested in exploring.

“In the long-term, Warwickshire’s position on underground coal gasification (UCG) is that the technology remains largely untested, controversial and there is no clear indication of the financial and environmental impact that such an initiative could have on the county.”

The news will come as a huge relief to campaigners across the county who had vociferously opposed the plans ever since they were first reported by the Telegraph in August 2013.

However, the company’s application for a licence to explore the area is still with The Coal Authority, the government-appointed organisation responsible for managing the country’s coal.

If granted, the company could change its mind in the future as licences are valid for up to six years.

Gareth Herd, of campaign group NO UCG Warwickshire, said: “The current situation does not mean that UCG by Cluff will not happen in Warwickshire.

“We will be watching The Coal Authority for their reaction, we would fully expect them to now deny the application in progress.

"This is a source of uncertainty and anxiety, particularly in regard to property values. The Coal Authority should therefore clarify the position by refusing this application as soon as possible.”

Source: Coventry Telegraph