EAST Ayrshire Council are looking for public input into a report on opencast mining.

The future of East Ayrshire’s mineral resources will be outlined in the Minerals Main Issues Report, a planning document which is due to be published by the Council’s Planning and Economic Development Service. But before the report, which is currently in draft form, can be approved, the public are being consulted for their views on what it should contain and say.

The draft Main Issues Report focuses on the big issues facing East Ayrshire in respect of mineral development, ranging from new extraction to restoration and community benefit.

Consultation on the draft Main Issues Report will play a major part in shaping the Minerals Local Development Plan which will eventually replace the existing East Ayrshire Local Plan 2010 and the Opencast Coal Subject Plan 2003.

The Minerals Local Development Plan will set out the strategy and policies that will guide minerals development to the most appropriate places and will play a key role in determining minerals related planning applications.

Two workshop events with drop in sessions are being held to invite public discussion and allow people to ask any relevant questions.

The workshops will cover restoration and legacy of opencast coal sites and the approach that should be adopted to identify new opencast coal extraction areas. The first is on Monday July 25 at Cumnock Town Hall, while the second will be held at the Boswell Centre in Auchinleck on Tuesday August 2. Running from 2pm until 4pm and again from 6pm until 8pm, the workshops will also be accompanied by drop-in sessions where any minerals related topic can be raised and discussed. The drop in sessions will run from 12pm until 1.45pm and 5pm until 5.45pm.

Councillor Jim Buchanan, East Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy said: “Our planning team have worked hard to produce this comprehensive document for the future of minerals in East Ayrshire, and we’re sure that it will be of great interest to our communities. So now we’re consulting with everyone, seeking their opinions so that we can fine tune it before final publication.

“We are not required to produce a draft Main Issues Report, but we felt it was appropriate to do so as a result of the huge changes in minerals extraction activity that have affected East Ayrshire, primarily in opencast coal. We’re using this consultation to give stakeholders an additional opportunity to shape the plan. The draft Main Issues Report sets out possible reasonable policy and spatial options for minerals related development. Normally a Main Issues Report would identify the Council’s preferred options. We have decided not to identify ‘preferred options’ in this draft Main Issues Report because we want public feedback to guide our decisions on what our ‘preferred options’ should be."

The draft Minerals Main Issues Report consultation runs until 5pm on Tuesday August 9.

Following the consultation, final publication is expected this October.

To see the draft report and further explanation of the process visit: eac.eu/mineralplan and to find out more or register for a place in the workshops email localdevelopmentplans@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or telephone 01563 576758.