REVISED plans for an opencast mine on the outskirts of Shildon have been met with renewed opposition from councillors.

UK Coal Mining wants to develop a site at Southfield, near Brussleton, to the south west of the town, to extract 580,000 tonnes of coal and 180,000 tonnes of fireclay.

A previous application for the site was criticised by Sedgefield borough councillors because of the potential harm it could do to the economic regeneration of Shildon.

Durham County Council refused planning permission in October last year and an appeal was lodged. A public inquiry is scheduled to start in November.

In the meantime, the company has submitted a revised application, which was discussed by the borough council's development control committee yesterday.

Planning officers said the new proposal was better than the previous one. They pointed out that the mine would not be visible from Shildon.

They also said that the county council had received more than 1,300 letters of support, mainly from people living in Shildon, and only a handful against.

Planning officer Charlie Walton commented on the difficulty of arguing the council's case at an appeal.

He said: "When we stand up in any inquiry and try to justify the things that you have said, there is very little evidence to back it up."

While some councillors supported the council officers' view, most remained opposed to the development

Councillor Frank Timmiss said is was time to call a halt to opencast sites around Shildon, saying: "After 20 years of all this we've had enough."

Councillor Gary Huntington said: "The reason we have never had any investment in Shildon is because it has never been part of England's green and pleasant land, due to the fact that land all around our town has been obliterated time-after-time."

Councillor Bob Fleming, from neighbouring Newton Aycliffe, backed the objectors.

He said: "When you are driving into Shildon you always see an opencast development."

Members agreed to forward their objections to Durham County Council, which will consider the application at a meeting on Friday, September 28.