Topic

Anyone any experience of opencast/quarries opening next door to them?

It has just been proposed by Banks mining that they are going to extract 750000 tonnes of coal by opencast and it is only 300yards at its nearest point from the housing estate.

We already have 2 opencasts at the other end of the estate and the noise and dust is annoying now.

I'm furious at this proposal, nobody seems to care about the residents here and the quality of life.

We have a facebook site open http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=350357131914#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=350357131914 for discussion and we are looking for info etc, maybe even health reports linking these sort of mining operations to ill health etc if anyone has experience in that area.

Also I would like to ask you to visit the 10 Downing street site where we have started a petition against it and add your name if you disagree with what they are doing. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FerneybedsOC/

People are at an all time low here and can only see at least 6 years of misery in what is otherwise a nice quiet village.

The following picture shows existing opencast sites, an old landfill site and sites where they carried out the burning and burial sites for foot and mouth. We really have been raped here.

Nah, stuff you!







RANT ON

To be honest, i think it is a ******** disgrace that the underground mining industry was ruined and thrown in the dustbin, because simple-minded politicians thought we'd be able to import cheap coal from elsewhere ad infinitum, and they could destroy the unions in one stroke. When they closed all the pits it was estimated that there was enough coal in the mines to supply the country for over 300 years.

'Surprise, surprise' we can't import cheap coal any more, so now they want to extract our coal on the cheap by devastating the countryside with open cast mining! But it's all right because you can't see the enormous scars in the landscape from the Houses of Parliament.

RANT OFF

I have happily signed your petition:yesnod:

ps we had the 'privilege' of a Foot and Mouth Pyre burning within 200 yards of our house, and the stench and air pollution was unbelievable!

Cheers mate. Have you joined the facebook site?

I wouldn't mind a return to "proper" mining, but as you say, the smash and grab tactic of quarrying seems the way to go. And it's not as if they bring in hundreds of landscape gardeners afterwards, they do the minimum acceptable, so here they turn what is a beautiful landscape into a bland manmade mismatch.

CJJ;11775 wrote: wrote:

Anyone any experience of opencast/quarries opening next door to them?

It has just been proposed by Banks mining that they are going to extract 750000 tonnes of coal by opencast and it is only 300yards at its nearest point from the housing estate.

We already have 2 opencasts at the other end of the estate and the noise and dust is annoying now.

I'm furious at this proposal, nobody seems to care about the residents here and the quality of life.

We have a facebook site open http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=350357131914#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=350357131914 for discussion and we are looking for info etc, maybe even health reports linking these sort of mining operations to ill health etc if anyone has experience in that area.

Also I would like to ask you to visit the 10 Downing street site where we have started a petition against it and add your name if you disagree with what they are doing. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FerneybedsOC/

People are at an all time low here and can only see at least 6 years of misery in what is otherwise a nice quiet village.

The following picture shows existing opencast sites, an old landfill site and sites where they carried out the burning and burial sites for foot and mouth. We really have been raped here.

Clive, that is awfull, when I was living with my parents, we went through the same thing...... but there was only five houses to fight the battle, sadly we lost and for 4 year we lived with an open cast right up to our back garden, what a nice view of baffle banks...

it was awfull, noise, lorry traffic and worst of all dust, to compensate for the dust we were given weekly car wash vouchers.

Hope it works out for you, anything I can do to help?

CJJ;11778 wrote: wrote:

Cheers mate. Have you joined the facebook site?

I wouldn't mind a return to "proper" mining, but as you say, the smash and grab tactic of quarrying seems the way to go. And it's not as if they bring in hundreds of landscape gardeners afterwards, they do the minimum acceptable, so here they turn what is a beautiful landscape into a bland manmade mismatch.

Nah, you don't need landscaping - just let the hole gradually fill up with water -hey presto- a wetland/wildlife area! Simples!

I have seen the mess that open cast mining creates in Kirkcaldy - not good - facebook group joined and your petition signed:)

Hope you get it stopped:thumbsup:

Signed. I'm sorry to hear that mate

hope they listen signed up

Hi clive, there is allot of literature out there regarding the long term health effects of coal dust, localized heavy industry and the long term impact of the emotional trauma of having heavy industry on your doorstep.

I'd suggest contacting Northumbria, Newcastle or better yet Teesside (but i would say that) University.

Ask for the school of Health and Social Care (I'm assuming all universities are structured the same way)

Ask to talk to somebody who is a leader or at least well informed in the field of Public Health. At Teesside there are some great experts who are widely read in the field. They can probably point you in the direction of literature that has statistics about the serious health effects that would be compounded by yet another open cast mine on your door step.

Politicians don't listen to people but you get some statistics and some academic heavy weights, get on the local news and you should be in the right direction.

Have signed up as well, I still have a UK address.

You can always move down south to escape it!

But seriously mate, good on ya... have signed the petition.

Hello Clive,

Here are some links concerning your worries about open Cast Mining, hope that you find them useful :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/546685.stm

http://coalintheuk.org/opencast-mine-%E2%80%98in-breach-of-directive%E2%80%99-claim-residents/

http://www.ilo.int/safework/normative/codes/lang--en/docName--WCMS_107828/index.htm


Health Impact Assessment Report :

http://wellington-shropshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/C9A8319D-A148-4FF7-A126-AFF9350BC7DA/0/huntington_lane_hia_draft.pdf

All the best,

Marc.