First guy to swim
from St Bees to the Isle of Man...
Sad news that Haven RL great, Gordon Cottier has died at age of 74 A
gent and inspiration.
New
car parking system on harbourside car parks
Breaking news:Judge stops mine plans after legal action by Friends
of the Earth. Operator West Cumbria Mining says the extraction of millions
of tonnes of coking coal for steel production will create 500 highly skilled
local jobs, with up to 1,500 more in the supply chain. Labour failed to
back the mine plan having fallen in line with the Extinction/Climate change
cult. Meanwhile the Whitehaven coal mine in Australia is booming with exports
to China.
The absurd campaign to oppose the mine and keep importing steelmaking coal
from overseas got backing from Labour's Ed Miliband and Libdem spokesman
Sir Ed Davey and 'green' objectors. 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 Council’s Executive Director Economy and Infrastructure decided
on 8th February 2021 (in due accordance with her delegated powers under
the Council’s 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 delay 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
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
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 person’s 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...