Cumbria County Council's planning committee has unanimously given its backing for a new deep coal mine on the North West coast, arguing the potential short term jobs boost "outweighed concerns about climate change and local amenity".

All members of council's planning committee - including Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat councillors - controversially approved the plans today, which could see developer West Cumbria Mining open the UK's first new deep coal mine in over 30 years.

The company plans to extract and process up to 2.5 million tonnes of metallurgical coal each year at the proposed Woodhouse Colliery near Whitehaven in order to supply UK and European steel-making coal plants. Extraction would take place from boreholes both onshore and out at sea.

The mine must still meet certain conditions, secure a permit from the Coal Authority, and is subject to the developer securing legal planning agreement with the council before it can go ahead, but it could be producing coal as soon as 2021.

Councillor Geoff Cook, chair of the council's planning committee suggested it had been hard work to balance the risks against the benefits of the proposal, explaining that "it wasn't an easy decision" but that short term local economic considerations were deemed more important than climate change impacts.

"All of us would prefer to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and we recognise that during construction there will be disruption to many local residents," the Liberal Democrat Councillor said. "However we felt that the need for coking coal, the number of jobs on offer and the chance to remove contamination outweighed concerns about climate change and local amenity. We now hope that West Cumbria Mining go on to be successful in obtaining their environmental permits and attract the investment they need to make this work."

Cook said he appreciated there would be "mixed views" about the decision, but that he hoped those in opposition would understand why it was taken.

But local campaigner Gwen Harrison, who was in attendance at the planning meeting, labelled the cross-party council decision "a disgrace".

Cumbria Council's decision will cause consternation among climate campaigners and Westminster politicians alike, with the UK a leading nation in the global Powering Past Coal initiative, which lobbies countries to set phase-out dates for coal fired power stations.

It is largely thanks to a reduction in coal fired power output that the UK has seen its greenhouse gas emissions fall by almost 40 per cent since 1990, faster than any other major developed country, while the economy has simultaneously grown. The UK is targeting an end to coal power by 2025.

Green advocates were therefore quick to criticise the Cumbria's "short-sighted" decision, arguing wider economic shifts were already rendering many coal assets unviable in the face of increasingly cheap and abundant renewable energy sources, thereby placing coal industry jobs under threat.

I'll say it again:

If Something Is Morally Wrong, Creating Employment Does Not Make It Morally Right pic.twitter.com/jSSXUcOMLO

— GeorgeMonbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) March 19, 2019

Climate and energy policy researcher Rebecca Willis, an associate at Green Alliance and research fellow at Lancaster and Exeter universities, meanwhile, suggested today's decision showed local planning policy still allowed for too much wriggle room for high carbon developments.

This shows the depth of the problem. There is currently enough ambiguity in climate policy and planning law to be able to put together some sort of justification for a new coal mine, even if this runs contrary to the UK's climate commitments. https://t.co/viEb96YA0S

— Rebecca Willis (@Bankfieldbecky) March 19, 2019

It follows a landmark decision last year from then-Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, who intervened to reject plans for a new open cast coal mine near Druridge Bay in Northumberland, citing the impact of the development on the UK's ability to meet its climate change commitments.

On appeal, however, the High Court later said Bank Mining's application for Druridge Bay should be reassessed by the new Housing and Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire, ruling that Javid did not provide adequate evidence to substantiate his decision.

However, the UK's Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) declined to comment on Cumbria County Council's decision "at this stage", noting that it was at present a matter for the local authority.

If all relevant conditions are met and permits secured, it is anticipated construction of the Woodhouse Colliery coal mine could start by the end of this year, with coal production commencing two years later, potentially in 2021.

Supporters of the development will argue that the coal will be used for steel production processes, rather than power generation and as such is not covered by the government's phase out date. Steel producers are investing in new low carbon techniques, but coal developers are seemingly confident that the steel industry will continue to drive demand for coal for years to come, minimising the risk of stranded assets.

Mark Kirkbride, CEO of West Cumbria Mining, said today's decision marked an "important milestone" that result in bringing jobs and investment to the region. "I am proud to be part of something which will have such a positive impact on the local community and economy as well as the long-term financial benefits the mine will bring to the UK," he said.