CONTROVERSIAL plans to mine coal from the moors above Burnley, Bacup, and Todmorden have been resubmitted.

Wakefield company HRM Resources has applied to Lancashire County Council for permission to remove 200,000 tons of clay and 140,000 tons of coal from Heald Moor and Thieveley Pike in a trench mining operation.

The plans were first mooted two years ago when there were fears that the proposed 40-hectare coal mine could wreck an area of beautiful countryside.

Burnley MP Peter Pike joined Rossendale residents in successfully objecting to the proposal and also joined a successful campaign to prevent mining on Heald Moor six years ago. He has again voiced opposition to the latest application and said he would "fight it all the way".

He added: "I was opposed to this last time and the previous application before that. I do not see the need for it and I do not want to see scarring on that part of the Burnley landscape. I will fight it all the way."

The new plans are likely to spark similar objections among local people with the company planning up to 24 heavy goods travelling to and from the mine through Todmorden each weekday.

Operating hours would be between 7am and 7pm on weekdays and 7am and 1pm on Saturdays, although there would be no blasting involved in the mining operation which would all be by drilling.

The plans have now gone out to consultation and the county council is encouraging interested parties to inspect them at the local authority offices in Rossendale, Burnley and Calderdale.

When the original plans were lodged, objectors marched from Cliviger to Bacup via Todmorden and launched a petition asking for the area to be redesignated as a priority area for ecological restoration and to be safeguarded against mining applications.

Campaigners expressed fears that the mine would pollute spring water supplies to homes, contaminate rivers, harm wildlife, cause dust and noise pollution, cause landslides and leave a permanent scar on the landscape.

A spokesman for the applicants said the company had been working closely with the Environment Agency to ensure the works would not damage the countryside.