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Sad news that Haven RL great, Gordon Cottier has died at age of 74 A gent and inspiration.

First guy to swim from St Bees to the Isle of Man...
New car parking system on harbourside car parks

Taxpayers cash builds Eyesore?


With funding via Sellafield and ultimately taxpayers, a massive new structure being built on Whitehaven harbourside. Find out more here.

Common Sense at last as mine approved

st bees drill rig

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 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 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


Copeland MP helped get dogs and cats out of Kabul?

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


Boost to Shop Local

For more information on the new Copeland campaign GO TO the Shop Local directory.


Naive Copeland says Yes to Nuke Dump

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


Phase Two of revamp of West Cumb. Hospital

A £40 million investment to deliver phase 2 of the West Cumberland Hospital (WCH) redevelopment has been approved by NHS Improvement. It will bring a huge upgrade in facilities for both patients and staff creating a better environment, retaining bed capacity and services for the site and improving the capacity to undertake additional planned operations in the future. Find out more...

Whitehaven and the Virginian Tobacco Trade

tobacco advert
Read about Whitehaven's role as the tobacco trading hub for Europe & the links with the early US colonies.

Spot the Mineshaft near you!mineshafts map
An interactive map shows the many mine shafts that pepper the area around Whitehaven and Cleator Moor. This information has been extracted from the national coal mining database, held and maintained by the Coal Authority. Go to the interactive map....
And see more on the area's mining...

Haunting pictures before 2017 demolition show 'ghost' nightclub ...The Park

Park nightclub
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.


Whitehaven's Mutineer...
tall ship

How one of the mutineers on the Bounty escaped the hangman's noose....Read on


Breezy Day at Whitehaven! (December 5 2013)


Whitehaven as she was
in 1847...
Fascinating detail in this reproduction from a Gazetteer from 1847....
William Pit

How the Queen Mum helped keep rare Slave Goblet in Whitehaven
Find out how Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002 made the anonymous gift...

Steam at Lowca

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 .....

geese
Memories of the 2005 Maritime Festival
Queen's Visit 2008
On June 5 2008 Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were cheered by around 10,000 wellwishers along the harbourside. The event marked the 300th anniversary of the grant of the Royal charter for the harbour.
See the actual Royal document in which Queen Anne granted Whitehaven her harbour.


Old Harbourside Scene
Harbour office from old postcard, Courtesy of Serge

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


Gulliver's Travels inspired by Whitehaven,

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.


Cumbria's Slavery Connections

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.....


Setting Sail out of Whitehaven
sail ship
Before the days of SatNav Whitehaven seamen set out at the mercy of the winds and tides from Whitehaven....many of the ships and their skippers are recorded in this web archive...


Sci Fi thriller cover

All about Whitehaven
plus Where to Stay Find out more about the old pubs and characters that have made Whitehaven unique.
Click to visit our feature page

Take a stroll through Whitehaven

Also use our Information page

Low Level Jet through the Lakes
flight video link
Try this video from the cockpit of a Typhoon over Wales and the Lake District...


Fireworks Fun!
New Marina Video Our Letters page enables you to
get in touch with our visitors.
Check out if you can help long lost families regain contact.

We can also put your club or
business on the web.
Telephone:07780681066.
E mails to Whitehaven.org.uk