Newcastle councillors reject plans for opencast coal mine

Friends of the Earth calls for end to such excavation in England after unanimous decision on Dewley Hill site

A decision by planners to block a new opencast coal mine in north-east England should bring down the curtain" on such sites, Friends of the Earth have said.

After a three-hour hearing on Friday, Newcastle city council's planning committee unanimously rejected Banks Mining's application to extract 800,000 tonnes of coal from a site at Dewley Hill near Throckley.