Cumbria County Council have been told they cannot make a decision today on whether or not to approve plans for a new coal mine, without "specific authorisation" from the Government.

The county council's development control and regulation committee is meeting this morning, and was set to make the long-awaited decision on whether or not to approve plans for a new coal mine south of Whitehaven.

However, in a last-minute intervention from Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the county council has been told that it cannot make a decision on the mine without "specific authorisation" from his Government department.

The intervention, made on Monday, will likely frustrate many in Cumbria and beyond; proposals for the mine have attracted significant controversy since they were first put to the council in 2017.

Proponents of the mine, such as Copeland's Conservative mayor Mike Starkie, have spoken with passion in favour of the jobs and the associated economic benefits they say the mining venture would bring.

But critics of the mine, including Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron, have spoken with equal passion lamenting what they say would be the unacceptable environmental impacts of the venture.

A decision to please either camp will however not be made today however, following Mr Jenrick's intervention.

He directed the county council "not to grant permission on this application without specific authorisation.

"This direction is issued to enable him to consider whether he should direct under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that the application should be referred to him for determination," the council has been told.

"This direction does not, of course, prevent your council from considering the application, forming a view as to the merits or, if they are so minded, refusing permission," the letter received by the council from Mr Jenrick's office added.