Supporters of the Whitehaven mine had argued it would bring economic and security benefits.
Former Conservative mayor of Copeland, Mike Starkie, said the decision was “devastating” as the mine “would have brought prosperity and opportunity”.
“West Cumbria was due to get a massive boost to its local economy,” he continued. “It was going to bring 500 direct jobs. There were going to be opportunities to upgrade the rail line, which could then potentially attract other industries into the area.
“And with a government telling you it’s got no money and it’s scaling back on capital projects, the reality for west Cumbria is we’re going to be completely left in the cold.”
Reacting to the High Court judgement, former Conservative MP for Workington Mark Jenkinson said the project would have created “well paid jobs” and “huge opportunities for the local supply chain”.
In a social media post, he claimed: “If we don’t mine coking coal here – which is required for our steel industry, among others, for the foreseeable future – then we import it from countries like Russia.”
Tessa Khan from the environmental group Uplift, which is taking part in a legal challenge against the previous government’s granting of new North Sea oil and gas licences, called such claims “poorly evidenced”.
She said: “The court has made it clear that the favourite line of fossil fuel companies – that if we didn’t produce fossil fuels here, it would simply be produced elsewhere – doesn’t wash.”
