Public meeting on surface coal mine
A storage area could be situated on land north of the Widdrington Inn roundabout
A public meeting to provide information and the opportunity for questions about the proposal for a surface coal mine at Highthorn near Widdrington will be held on Thursday 25 February between 6pm and 8pm at the Widdrington Station Community Centre, Grange Road, Widdrington Station.
The meeting will consider the planning application by the Banks Group for development of a new surface mine to extract coal, sandstone and fireclay, with subsequent restoration to agricultural and ecological uses.
It will provide officers and councillors with the opportunity to hear first-hand issues of local concern which may be relevant to consideration of the planning application. It is also to provide the local community with information about the planning application and the planning process.
Officers from Northumberland County Council will give a short presentation about the proposal, the planning process and the consultation responses so far. The meeting will then be opened to questions from the public, which will be answered by representatives of the Banks Group and the council.
Feedback from the public meeting will be fed into consideration of the planning application.
The target date for the application to be considered by the planning committee is currently June 2016, although this is subject to change
