The mayor of Copeland says he is “confident” the plan to build a new coal mine near Whitehaven will be approved.
Copeland Council held its final annual general meeting in Whitehaven yesterday.
Councillors appointed Coun Linda Jones Bulman as the Chairperson for 2022-23, and Coun Joan Hully as Deputy Chair.
During the meeting, Mayor Mike Starkie looked back on the year. He said: “This is the final AGM of Copeland Borough Council, and we are on the cusp of a new era.
“I’m proud of the part we’ve played in bringing about Local Government Reorganisation – change that has been needed for years. It was ours and Allerdale’s proposal that was chosen to shape the county going forward.
“The world has been a very different place over the last couple of years, due to the pandemic and all the issues associated with it. Staff across the organisation have been incredible in the way they supported the community to come together and help the vulnerable.
“And among all that, we drove the council forward with economic achievements: the transformative project at Leconfield industrial estate; the difficult purchase of the Red Lion site in Egremont, that had for years been a blight on the town centre; and the Bus Station – a planning triumph that is a credit to the town.
“And there’s much still to come – we bought several shops in Whitehaven which will soon be filled, work is due to begin at the Whittles building and we hope, soon, to start planning investment in the Mark House and bus station garages sites. We’re about to submit a second levelling up bid for Cleator Moor that will be transformative.
“In the next 12 months we are expecting news on Small Modular Reactors and fusion, and I am confident the new coal mine will be approved.
“I want to thank all of our colleagues, and councillors too. They are the bedrock of our remarkable progress.
“Thousands of Copeland staff and councillors have served this borough since 1974. No-one gets involved in a council unless they are committed to making their community a better place.
“There is lots to do, and it comes as we transform into a new unitary authority. I can’t overstate the scale and sensitivity of that challenge.
“But I know that, after nearly 50 years, Copeland will finish well.”
The Mayor also presented the council’s 2021-22 Summary of Achievements, which can be found here: https://www.copeland.gov.uk/attachments/copeland-council-summary-achievements-2021-22.
