FURNESS' Extinction Rebellion (XR) group has urged the county council to ditch a new coal mining in Cumbria after plans for the project received a setback this week.

West Coast Mining's plans to begin work on what would be the UK's first deep mine in over three decades hit an obstacle when the county council said it would not rely on a decision made in support of the project that had been subject to judicial review.

The county council, which unanimously approved the application over a year ago, has now confirmed it will no longer be relying on the resolution decision used to inform its support for the project.

West Coast Mining, the company behind the proposed underground venture near Whitehaven, has now submitted a revised planning application to the county council which seeks to answer the legal challenges posed by a judicial review launched earlier this year by an environmental group.

The £165 million project would see 750 million tonnes of coal extracted from the sea bed off the coast at St Bees in a project expected to span several decades.

The legal firm representing the campaign group, Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole, has said it will now press for legal costs from the county council and West Coast Mining since it claims it has achieved its goal in overturning the council's unanimous decision last March to approve the mining project.

Commenting on the development earlier this week, a spokesperson for XR Furness said: "On the face of it, this is very good news.

"It's incredible that councillors should have accepted the absurd argument that a coal mine could ever be 'carbon neutral'.

"And it's also beyond belief they thought it could create hundreds of jobs for more than 40 years and be vital to steel production, when the steel industry has made a commitment to reducing the use of coal and coke.

"The argument that burning Cumbrian coal is better for the environment than coal from elsewhere is also laughable. Any coal production and burning anywhere will damage our global environment.

"The global coal industry will never recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, industry observers predict, because the crisis has proved renewable energy is cheaper for consumers and a safer bet for investors.

"Instead of trying to support a dying industry, the county council should listen to its advisers, like Professor Mike Berners-Lee, and support Cumbria as a centre of excellence for renewables, creating long-term jobs."

West Coast Mining's application to extract coal near the site of the former Haig Colliery, which shut in 1986, follows five years of research by the firm. It aims to supply the UK and European steel-making coal market.

The mine is expected to create around 500 jobs in one of England's most-deprived wards.

WCM did not respond to a request for comment.

Unlike with mining applications in the North East, the government has not called in the Woodhouse Colliery for review.

A decision is still being awaited for those two surface mine projects at Druridge Bay, Northumberland, and at Bradley in County Durham.

A deadline was originally set for last April, when James Brokenshire was Communities Secretary.