“Protect us from Provectus!” chanted a 200-strong march in North Derbyshire on Saturday 22 September.
The Provectus company wants to excavate an opencast coal mine within 500 metres of 1,300 homes. If the plans go through the site would be dug out to a depth of 30 metres.
Work would continue for three or four years. During that time, local residents would have noise, dust and frequent lorry movements to put up with, as well as losing their local countryside.
And although jobs are desperately needed in this area of high unemployment, opencast mining creates very few local jobs.
The march followed a three-mile route circling the site, including Tupton, Holmgate and Clay Cross. Many joined as the march passed their houses.
