CONTROVERSIAL plans to open the UK's first new deep coal mine in more than 30 years will be met with protest this weekend.
A rally will be held at Bowness Bay on from noon on Sunday by campaigners opposed to the coal mining plans at St Bees.
The plans are to be decided at a meeting of Cumbria County Council on November 1, with the group hoping to open the Woodhouse Colliery in 2019.
Marianne Birkby, of Radiation Free Lakeland, said: "West Cumbria Mining assume that the county operates in a time warp where mining and exporting fossil fuels is a good thing."
A statement from Friends of the Earth said: "It is clear that this is a very large mine, with a very long life span of 20-50 years and a peak of 2.8 million tonnes a year.
"That could be a total production of 80 million tonnes, which will emit around 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The level of emissions and proposed life-time of the mine is of major concern."
A spokesperson for West Cumbria Mining said: "Our planning application is currently with Cumbria County Council for consideration and there is no further comment at this time."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here