Protesters at the Huntington Lane coal mine site, near New Works, Telford hit back today at claims by the local parish council that they have made the area unsafe.
See the original article at http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2010/08/06/fears-over-anti-wrekin-mining-protest-tunnels/
Fears that activities at the camp are causing a health hazard are entirely unfounded and we would like to invite anyone with concerns of this nature to visit the camp to discuss them with the protesters.
“A number of issues have been raised and we just wanted to put peoples minds at ease” says Dawn ” The claims that we are creating a health hazard are very unfair. This area is well known locally for being riddled with old mine workings and holes in the ground; UK Coal even cited the fact that the ground was ‘dangerous’ as part of their case at the public inquiry! To suggest that activities carried out on site by protesters have rendered the site unsafe seem somewhat biased. We would encourage people not to be put off visiting the camp by these claims and hope that we can alleviate any concerns they may have and set the record straight.”
The possibilities of a tunnel collapse or a methane leak have always been present on this site and its worth noting that even if there were a methane leak it couldn’t possibly poison people on the surface. There is no more risk of visitors being ‘poisoned’ than there ever was! The only new risks are to the tunnellers themselves who are obviously well aware of all the dangers involved.
Had the committee ‘experts’ engaged with the camp on these issues we would have been happy to put their minds at rest on all counts. It’s a shame they felt the need to speak to the Shropshire Star rather than approaching us directly and we’d welcome any future contact from Little Wenlock Parish Council should they have any concerns. We appreciate their concern for our safety and would like to reassure everyone that there is no risk to the public as a result of any of our activities on site.
Little Wenlock Parish Council have put up the following warning notice on the New Works notice board branding the camp ‘unsafe’ and ‘unsanitary’.
DANGER
“Little Wenlock Parish Council clerk John Marsham said that the intention was not to discourage visitors to the site but the wording of this notice suggests otherwise.” says Dawn “Accusations of unsanitary conditions are not only totally unfounded as the camp has a kitchen, fresh hot and cold water and toilet facilities, but are also quite derogatory. The purpose of these accusations seems to be an effort to put people off the camp, we hope that is not the case and that people will continue to support us as they always have.”
Defend Huntington Lane 