Political protest...

I indulged in a spot of active political protest today for the first time in my life. I joined a peaceful rally at County Hall in Morpeth, demonstrating against an application by a local mining company to extract 3 million tonnes of coal over a 5-year period by opencast mining at Druridge Bay, a wild and unspoilt beauty spot/nature reserve a few miles up the Northumberland Coast. This collage shows some of the goings-on; as you may see there were speeches by Natalie Bennett of the Green Party and Craig Bennett (no relation of hers, as far as I know), Chief Exec of Friends of the Earth.

After the rally, we were allowed into the public section of the Council Chamber to hear the discussion, which was very illuminating. Against the mining proposal were arguments such as:
- We don't need coal, it's being phased out and is polluting
- We should be concentrating on renewable energy
- Wildlife will suffer
- It will look awful
- Tourism will suffer and jobs will be lost because of that
- Local industrial real estate will drop in price, making some firms go to the wall (more loss of jobs)

In favour were arguments like:
- It will provide employment, much needed in the area
- The country will be using coal for some of its electric power until 2025 and it's better to mine it here than in China
- The plans are such that environmental effects will be more than fully mitigated (provision of additional wildlife habitat) and within 7-8 years of starting work the whole site will be returned to its former appearance
- During the work the site will be well screened by earthbanks and noise and dust will be minimal
- If the Council refuses permission, an appeal will almost certainly go to the Secretary of State; there'll probably be a public enquiry which will be costly and eventually the go-ahead will probably be given anyway.

There had been about 10,000 letters & emails from the public against the proposal and about 1,000 in support.

In the end, the Council voted unanimously (1 abstention) that it was "minded to approve the application" (it still has to go to the Secretary of State; (s)he is likely to rubber-stamp it but could possibly order a public enquiry anyway).

In fact, having heard the arguments for both sides I surprised myself by feeling that maybe the Council had taken a reasonable, pragmatic approach after all. I am still concerned that the restitution of the site may not be as good as they claim although it seems that the Council will insist on adequate financial backup being provided up-front lest the firm is unable to meet its responsibilities at any stage. (I think I was in the minority in this regard amongst the protesters however: there was much grumbling as we left the meeting!)

All in all, an interesting afternoon!