September 23, 2009

More nanny-state blues - English Coal

From the UK Daily Mail:
coal_train.jpg
Welsh steam train forced to use coal shipped 3,000 miles from Siberia when local coal mine is only THREE miles away
Regulations are forcing a Welsh steam train to use coal shipped 3,000 miles from Siberia rather than from a mine three miles away.

Planning conditions on the Ffos-y-Fran mine in South Wales mean that coal has to be transported by rail rather than via local roads.

However there is no rail link between the mine and the Brecon Mountain Railway, so the local coal cannot be used.
A bit more and the reason for the ruling:
According to The Telegraph, planning permission for the mine had stipulated coal could only be transported by rail after residents voiced concerns about noise and dust coming from the mine.

Up to 20,000 tonnes of coal is dug every week at the mine, with most of it going to the Abethaw power station in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Well you have to plan these things out otherwise civilization will fall apart... How about letting the market drive things -- just like they have for the last 300 years. Worked great until planners and councils got their fat grubby hands into things. Posted by DaveH at September 23, 2009 8:26 PM
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