September brought the longawaited decision on Banks' Highthorn mine. The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government rejected the proposal to mine three million tonnes of coal by opencast methods from a site near Druridge Bay. The decision brings to an end a five-year saga in which Northumberland County Council had resolved to approve the application in 2016, but it was called-in by then secretary of state Sajid Javid and refused on climate change impact grounds, despite his planning inspector recommending approval.
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