Cauldhall Moor - What's an open cast like for a neighbour?

Coal companies want to remove 10 million tonnes of coal from Cauldhall Moor near Penicuik .

What can people expect from an open cast as a neighbour?
We hear from residents near Scottish Coal sites in South Lanarkshire, with footage of machinery and haulage from the area.

http://vimeo.com/63478673


For more information see stopopencast.org.uk/ and email contact [at] stopopencast.org.uk

I hear that the council is going to consider the Cauldhall application in November.

It's confirmed that the decision on Cauldhall will be taken next Tuesday, 19th.

An update from the Midlothian Advertiser site though the Herald says it is likely to be approved.

http://www.midlothianadvertiser.co.uk/news/local-news/crunch-time-for-midlothian-opencast-plans-1-3186906

Wonder who will get the bill when the company go bust and have no money to clean it all up? Strange how Scottish Coal claim that the fall in coal prices caused them to go bust when coal only seems to be going UP in price!

Interesting that the SNP now seem intent on expanding coal mining production. So much for 100% renewable energy.

sunnyjim wrote:

Interesting that the SNP now seem intent on expanding coal mining production. So much for 100% renewable energy.

You wonder what the council will be getting out of it as there will be hundreds of trucks travelling the narrow roads between the site and Millerhill where I assume the coal will be loaded on to trains heading to either Longannet Power Station or down south. Of course the owners of the land are quite happy as they get £££s for nothing at all and if the company go bust before the site is returned to its original condition then they can use it for landfill bringing in more cash.
Lots of unanswered questions and more to come when the next wind farm application appears soon.
 

The thing is of course that the site has still to meet approval for the new Local Plan. This will be 2015 at the earliest. What a laugh if the councillors are persuaded to chuck it out. The decision in November was not exactly unanimous.

SunnyJim
Are you sure about that? My rather long and extensive experience of Local Plans is that consent will have been granted under the existing Plan or possibly that the "emerging" Plan will have been taken into account if it was that far advanced at the time.
Decisions can only be made in accordance with whatever Plan is currently operative.
Unless they've changed the rules in the last four or five years, of course. Which is always possible.

Happy New Year to all, by the way!

The site is not contained in the current (2008) Local Plan. It was recognised that the site is contained as a proposal in the emerging Local Plan but that Plan is at only the first stage of consultation. A new, draft Local Plan will not emerge for consultation until later this year. It would make a farce of the planning process if all developers have to do is persuade councillors to approve any applications for major development proposals even though they are not accepted in principle in a current Local Plan and then they would automatically be adopted in the next revision of the Local Plan.