Miners reject plans to close Kellingley Colliery

Miners at Kellingley Colliery have rejected plans that would lead to the pit closing within 18 months.
Workers at Kellingley Colliery are holding a meeting with Yvette Cooper after UK Coal announced the pit will close unless the government step in to help.Workers at Kellingley Colliery are holding a meeting with Yvette Cooper after UK Coal announced the pit will close unless the government step in to help.
Workers at Kellingley Colliery are holding a meeting with Yvette Cooper after UK Coal announced the pit will close unless the government step in to help.

Energy Minister Michael Fallon announced last week that a £10m loan, alongside £10m from the private sector, would support the “managed closure” of the pit, which employs 700 workers, along with another at Thoresby, in Nottinghamshire, which employs 1,300 people.

But representatives from the National Union of Mineworkers rejected the offer and called on the government to look at alternative options to keep the pit open as a “going concern” at a meeting last night.

UK Coal, who run both sites, claimed last week that the pits could close within ten days if the deal wasn’t agreed.