Brenkley Lane extension another step closer

Newcastle City Council approves plans for additional coal extraction at north-east surface mine

PLANS to allow additional work at a north-east surface mine have taken a step forward after winning the unanimous backing of Newcastle City Council’s planning committee.

Banks Mining are looking to continue operations at their Brenkley Lane surface mine, which sits to the north of Newcastle, and have identified an additional 14ha area on the site from which they want to mine more than 500,000 further tonnes of coal.

The additional work would not require any extension of the mine’s current operational timescale, with the site still set to be completely restored by the end of 2021.

In September last year, Banks submitted a planning application for the project to both Northumberland County Council and Newcastle City Council, as the site straddles their respective areas.

After being recommended for approval by Newcastle City Council planning officers, the proposals have now been supported by all the members of the City Council’s planning committee.

A decision by Northumberland County Council on the planning application is expected in the coming months.

Mark Dowdall, Banks’ environment and community director, said: ‘We’re pleased that Newcastle City Council’s planning committee members have given such a strong mandate to our planning application, and hope their views will be replicated by their peers at the County Council.’