First guy to swim
from St Bees to the Isle of Man...
New
car parking system on harbourside car parks
Breaking news: April
2023 Bizarre climate challenge dismissed and mine given go-ahead.
December 5 2022 Government sees common sense and approves the mine plan.
The absurd campaign to oppose the mine and keep importing steelmaking coal
from overseas got backing from Libdem spokesman Sir Ed Davey and 'green'
objectors. A final decision on the Whitehaven coal mine may come in early
December. Until then the UK has to import its steelmaking coal. Mayor Mike
Starkey needs a better loudhailer to get the message across. Ed Davey babbles
on about using other energy sources than coal...ignoring the fact that the
Whitehaven coal is not for power generation.
This followed yet another public inquiry (September 7 2021) into Whitehaven's
steelmaking coal plan..See
details here.
Background: The repeated democratic approval by Cumbria County Council of
the mine was halted by an unelected official. This was stated in the Council's
statement to the public inquiry that:" After careful consideration,
the Councils Executive Director Economy and Infrastructure decided
on 8th February 2021 (in due accordance with her delegated powers under
the Councils Constitution and entirely reasonably in the circumstances)
that the application should be referred back to the Committee for reconsideration.".
In another crazy move (24/4/2021) Extinction rebellion dumped 'coal' outside
Lloyds of London in bid to prevent insurers providing insurance cover
for the proposed steelmaking coal mine.
By making a second Freedom of Information request (18/3/2021) Whitehaven.org.uk
had established no elected councillor (neither Labour nor Tory) made the
decision to hit the steelmaking coal mine plan with a major delay.
We originally asked in the first FOI request "which councillors or
council officials made the decision reported in media to re examine the
planning application by WCM for new coal mine at Whitehaven."
In reply the Council stated: "The Executive Director Economy and
Infrastructure made the decision to re-examine the planning application
by WCM for new coal mine at Whitehaven." In our second request we
asked:"Which county councillors made the decision to have the WCM
whitehaven coal mine planning application reconsidered?" The answer
was: "County Councillors did not make or approve the decision to
have the WCM Whitehaven coal mine planning
application reconsidered. This decision was made by the Executive Director
for Economy and Infrastructure under responsibilities set out in the Constitution
- Part 3 - Delegation to Officers."
This is the timeline of the absurd decisions to halt steelmaking coal
mine...
Democratically elected County Council approves planning application.
Democratically elected central government accepts plans.
Ed Miliband (supposedly Labour's Business spokesman) makes speech condemning
the plans.
County Council Director of Economy decides to have plans re-examined.
Mine applicant threatens judicial review...
Government halts plans and sets up public inquiry.
The outcome of this shambles will be that the UK has to carry on importing coking coal for steelmaking. The trendy 'green' claim of using hydrogen for steelmaking not operating in any commercial plant and will never be used until at least 2035.
Last year Cumbria Council gave approval for a new undersea coking coal
mine that could generate over 400 jobs. But in February 2021 they respond
to Extinction style rebellion and other climate theory believers and say
they want to review their own decision!
Yet even Green campaigners admit UK needs coking coal until at least 2035....so
coking coal would have to be imported and what impact on so called global
warming does all that have?
Protesters have not fully explained how the nation would then rely on
coking coal imports instead of coal from Whitehaven. Even Cumbria
Wildlife joined the opposition, despite this promoting imports of
overseas coking coal.
Pictured is an offshore drilling platform drilling to test for layers
of coking coal off St Bees Head.
West Cumbria Mining hope to start the extraction of coking coal off the
coast of St Bees, with a processing plant on the former Marchon site at
Kells. Coal would be treated at a processing plant using around a third
of the former Marchon site and covered by a dome, before being transferred
to a train loading facility on a siding built by WCM
south of the new Mirehouse train station.
See also the history of mining
in Whitehaven
28/1/2022 Controversy swirls around Copeland Tory MP Trudy Harrison, the parliamentary private secretary to Boris Johnson. National media reports that Trudy Harrison sent a letter to the Nowzad founder, Pen Farthing, setting out confirmation from the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence that the animal evacuation flight could take place. The flight of dogs and cats went ahead while hundreds of people were left in the Taliban run country. Boris Johnson tried to dismiss controversy calling it all "rhubarb". This is reported to be the letter sent by the Copeland MP on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Whitehaven's own poduces slick new web business...www.stripeycats.co.uk
For more information on the new Copeland campaign GO TO the Shop Local directory.
Copeland Council's ruling executive voted July 22 2020 to "open
up discussions" on the possibility of building an underground nuclear
waste repository in the borough - though not in the Lake District.
The council's leadership voted to begin discussions with Radioactive Waste
Management (RWM), with a view towards setting up a working group to explore
the prospect of an underground facility - a geological disposal facility
(GDF) - being constructed in the borough.More
info
Now in 2017 demolished, what was previously the town's swimming pool,
then became a nightclub, known to many from past decades as The Park.
Featured in the Daily
Mirror this picture of the sad interior remains of the Park
nightclub. Pic by Dave Wilson.
How one of the mutineers on the Bounty escaped the hangman's noose....Read on
Atmospheric video
on the footplate of steam shunter working at Lowca....you
can almost smell the steam and coal dust!
TAKE A STROLL!
Take
a guided walk around the town .....
MARRAS..archive of past match reports of Whitehaven RFL |
To ask us for a web advert, page or a site of your own
Contact:
Emails
David J Siddall
Tel 07780681066
In 2022 a mural celebrating the connection was repainted thanks to Heritage Group.The fascinating connection between Jonathan Swift and Whitehaven..find out the story here.
ONE of the first times a black slave was permitted to share a white persons burial plot in England happened in Whitehaven in 1700. And the Whitehaven burial in St Nicholas churchyard, of the slave called Jane, was in defiance of the then law stating that no African could be buried in a churchyard. The burial was that of the slave servant of Mildred Gale, grandmother of the first US president, George Washington. More.....
Low Level Jet through the Lakes
Try this video from the cockpit of a Typhoon over Wales and the Lake District...