Western Lakeland Harbour and Start of Coast to Coast Cycle Route - Ongoing Toxic Pollution Pouring In From Old Mines.

The film above was taken on February 6th 2024 of Whitehaven Harbour and shows polluted acid minewater pouring into the harbour via a culvert from old mines. 

Whitehaven is where the Nuclear Dump boss's Coal Mine (I know!) is due to start mining (unless the Coal Authority do not issue West Cumbria Mining's lapsed licence to drill!).   Mark Kirkbride the CEO of West Cumbria Mining is also the guy the government have hired to advise on Investigation Techniques for a deep hot nuclear dump (Geological Disposal Facility) and we launchted a petition to "Save the Whale and the Snail" to stop seismic blasting "investigation techniques."  Our campaigning has been partially successful in halting seismic blasting in Allerdale and Lincolnshire but the seismic blasting in Copeland we didn't manage to halt was hugely damaging to marine life. 

Meanwhile Kirkbride's "investigation techniques" for his coal mine included driling over 4000 metres of boreholes into the hill above Whitehaven and down into the sea - the boreholes were then flushed with 240 litres of water a minute "to test the hydrology." In an area already riddled with mines this would be a bit like jumping up and down on a rotten roof.   

Around the same time Mark Kirkbride's coal mine was approved by Government in Dec 2022, the honeycomb of old Whitehaven mines kind of had a massive hiccup and started gushing orange acid minewater into the harbour.

It is still gushing with no end in sight over one year on.  From the harbour the polluted water flows into the Irish Sea and the Solway Firth.  You would think that the local MP Trudy Harrison would be "on the case" and making sure this pollution was banner headlines but nope not a peep.  There are vested interests.  Trudy Harrison is a red hot supporter of West Cumbria Mining and New Nuclear - both of these industries are collaborating to dig very big holes (albeit the Nuclear Dump hole would be of a magnitude far greater than the Coal Hole).  Drawing attention to the pollution from the old mines honeycombing the West Coast of Cumbria and Whitehaven in particular would undermine their very BIG hole plans for Coal and especially for Nuclear.

We have set up a crowdfund to raise funds aiming to do what the authorities have failed to do and find out exactly what is happening in order that this pollution can be stopped. 

Even if you cannot donate and we know times are hard - Please do share and spread the word about this intolerable situation not just for Whitehaven Harbour but for the Marine Life of the supposedly "Highly Protected" Allonby/Solway Firth and Marine Conservation Zone of the Irish Sea .

With Many Thanks!