From the Heritage Railway Association:
https://www.facebook.com/HRAUK/posts...060?__tn__=K-R
It is regarding a proposal for a new coal mine, which would become the biggest in the UK, with the Government set to make a decision on whether to give this the go ahead on 7th April (next Tuesday!)
The HRA wants people to write to the Secratary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to support the application, arguing that without this new mine, the Heritage Railway Sector will have to rely on imported coal.
The argument is that the Heritage Railway Sector massively contributes to the economy as a major player in the UK's tourist industry. Also, the environmental concerns should be seen as minimal as the environmental cost of importing coal would be higher than setting up the new mine in the UK. Also, the steam locomotives in use in Britain currently use around 26,000 tonnes of coal annually, from a total consumption in the UK of 12,000,000 tonnes - this equates to just over 0.2% of the country's coal consumption coming from heritage railways.*
* figures are from an article in the Times from 2017
Tony