:00:12. > :00:15.Good evening. Welcome to the programme. First tonight, one of
:00:16. > :00:19.Yorkshire's two remaining deep coal mines is set to close. Kellingley
:00:20. > :00:22.Colliery is to shut with the loss of 700 jobs, another 600 jobs are to go
:00:23. > :00:26.at Thoresby in Nottinghamshire, and up to 100 jobs are also under threat
:00:27. > :00:29.at UK Coal's head office in Doncaster. Today's announcement
:00:30. > :00:38.comes after a long period of financial uncertainty for UK Coal.
:00:39. > :00:43.Danni Hewson has more. It is not the first time the future
:00:44. > :00:49.of Kellingley Colliery has hung in the balance, but it seems likely it
:00:50. > :00:53.will be the last. It has been on shaky ground since fire ripped
:00:54. > :00:58.through another mine in February last year, sending the UK's biggest
:00:59. > :01:04.coal producer into administration. When I visited in autumn, the bosses
:01:05. > :01:08.were pulling no punches. The cheap coal from America and Russia was
:01:09. > :01:12.making it all but impossible to stay afloat. Despite the vast reserves
:01:13. > :01:19.still underground and the continual Alliant on coal for energy. ``
:01:20. > :01:23.reliance. Today, they started controlled shutdown in Yorkshire and
:01:24. > :01:29.at Thoresby in Nottinghamshire with the loss of 1500 jobs. We have a
:01:30. > :01:33.consultation started today that takes us through 25 days were people
:01:34. > :01:36.will speak with trade unions, with the company, with employee
:01:37. > :01:42.representatives to get a full understanding. We're looking at a
:01:43. > :01:45.package that enables us to close down Kellingley Colliery and
:01:46. > :01:48.Thoresby in 18 months in a safe and managed way so that we look after
:01:49. > :01:56.employees as best as we can and also the suppliers. A slow shutdown will
:01:57. > :02:00.require a ?28 billion bailout. The unions are looking for further cash
:02:01. > :02:06.to keep the unions open, but it would be a struggle. This is a
:02:07. > :02:10.struggle. We have fought to keep it open, but we need to stand together
:02:11. > :02:15.again at a time when there are jobs at risk, but also, the remaining
:02:16. > :02:19.deep mined coal industry, there is a time when we need jobs and also we
:02:20. > :02:23.need to maintain diverse energy supplies. Closure will leave only
:02:24. > :02:28.one deep mine in Yorkshire, but now the employee owned Hatfields
:02:29. > :02:32.colliery. Well Danni is here in the studio
:02:33. > :02:39.now. Danni, what's going to happen next? Well, there is now going to be
:02:40. > :02:46.a 45 day consultation and at the same time, they would be pushing for
:02:47. > :02:49.the cash that they need. They need about ?20 million. Said the
:02:50. > :02:54.government could bail them out for about ?10 million. If they do not
:02:55. > :02:59.get the cash, then forgets the slow shutdown, we could see the closure
:03:00. > :03:02.within weeks. At the same time, in the background, the unions are
:03:03. > :03:09.lobbying for a bailout from Europe, with a name to keep these coalmines
:03:10. > :03:14.afloat, up to 20 at least. But there is a dispute about if this qualifies
:03:15. > :03:20.for this what is called state eight. Is there any hope at all for
:03:21. > :03:25.agreement? The bottom line is, tonight, 40% of electricity comes
:03:26. > :03:29.from coal`fired power stations. Coal production is not paying. Not only
:03:30. > :03:35.does most of it's now come from Russia, America, even Colombia and
:03:36. > :03:38.very cheaply, UK coal has two trading dollars. Even if they are
:03:39. > :03:43.just selling it seven miles of the road. And there is a strong pound
:03:44. > :03:47.sterling, and then there is the switch to biomass and other
:03:48. > :03:52.environmentally friendly fuels, so there is a landscape where the coal
:03:53. > :03:59.production in this country is looking very bleak. Of course at the
:04:00. > :04:01.heart of today's announcement are the people losing their jobs at
:04:02. > :04:08.Kellingley. Our reporter Kate Bradbrook is there for us now.
:04:09. > :04:13.This pit here in telling a on the border of north and west Yorkshire
:04:14. > :04:16.has been here for over 15 years. `` this pit here at Kellingley
:04:17. > :04:20.Colliery. Tonight, the future is in doubt as the announcement that this
:04:21. > :04:25.colliery and Thoresby in Nottinghamshire will close meaning
:04:26. > :04:29.the loss of 700 jobs here and a further 600 jobs in Nottinghamshire
:04:30. > :04:34.and the possibility of up to another 100 jobs going at the UK coal
:04:35. > :04:37.officers in Doncaster. Of course, with coal miners now travelling
:04:38. > :04:41.further afield to work, those potential job losses will have a
:04:42. > :04:45.ripple effect. Earlier tonight, I spoke with the general secretary at
:04:46. > :04:51.the National union of Mineworkers to gauges reaction. The reaction is
:04:52. > :04:55.shocked, because although coal mining has been up and down, it
:04:56. > :05:02.always had inherited risks with geology, coal prices fluctuating. It
:05:03. > :05:10.has always been full of rumours. But it has been a shock to the men when
:05:11. > :05:14.the rumours come through. Bad news tonight with the UK coal industry
:05:15. > :05:19.and also from mining here in Yorkshire, coming 30 years after the
:05:20. > :05:22.miners strike. The latest tonight is that they will fight on. They hope
:05:23. > :05:27.to secure funding from the government which they hope will work
:05:28. > :05:30.like it has in other countries across Europe and has saved
:05:31. > :05:35.coalmines closure, so the messages, they will fight on. Thank you. More
:05:36. > :05:39.news now... A new report says owning your own
:05:40. > :05:42.home is becoming increasingly less likely for Yorkshire's young people.
:05:43. > :05:45.Home Truths, a report by the National Housing Federation, says
:05:46. > :05:48.fewer than half of the number of new homes needed in Yorkshire are
:05:49. > :05:51.currently being built. An annual income of nearly ?36,000 is needed
:05:52. > :05:56.for the average mortgage here. But the average salary across Yorkshire
:05:57. > :05:58.is less than ?20,000. Bradford's long`awaited city centre
:05:59. > :06:01.regeneration is beginning to take shape today with steel work for the
:06:02. > :06:06.new Westfield shopping centre arriving on site. The steel is being
:06:07. > :06:11.fabricated at a factory in Thirsk in North Yorkshire. More than 6,00
:06:12. > :06:16.tonnes will be used to construct the mall. It's more than a decade since
:06:17. > :06:20.the area was cleared ready for the ?260 million scheme and for the
:06:21. > :06:26.first time there are signs of development.
:06:27. > :06:29.The two groups wanting to take over Leeds United have tonight said
:06:30. > :06:32.they're working together to launch a joint bid to take control. The
:06:33. > :06:34.Together Leeds consortium say they've been approached by Italian
:06:35. > :06:37.businessman Massimo Cellino, who's still awaiting a decision on his
:06:38. > :06:44.appeal to the football authorities, who initially blocked his attempt.
:06:45. > :06:53.Now, the weather. Misty and murky outside with some
:06:54. > :06:59.rain pushing to the north. Greater moral, but hope on Friday that the
:07:00. > :07:04.skies will eventually brighten up. Extensive hill fog and fog on the
:07:05. > :07:11.coast. A drop night with patchy rain and lowest temperatures at around 67
:07:12. > :07:17.Celsius. Similar day tomorrow, fog reluctance to clear from the hills,
:07:18. > :07:24.patchy rain at first. A risk of 12 showers in the West and later in the
:07:25. > :07:30.East. Top temperatures of 11 or 12 degrees. Much cooler on the coast.
:07:31. > :07:34.Some hope for Friday. Cloudy. That is it from me, we will leave you
:07:35. > :07:35.with the National is it from me, we will leave you
:07:36. > :07:41.with the National forecast. more information on that, here is my
:07:42. > :07:46.colleague. Good evening. Very hazy skies in
:07:47. > :07:52.London today and many other towns and cities across the UK. On
:07:53. > :07:55.Thursday there is the chance of some pretty high pollution in the
:07:56. > :08:02.south-east and East Anglia but by the time we get towards the end of
:08:03. > :08:06.the week, we will see clearer Atlantique air coming in and we
:08:07. > :08:11.should get rid of the Saharan dust which has been making services
:08:12. > :08:17.grubby in the last few days. You can see the pattern across the
:08:18. > :08:22.Atlantic. We also have a weather front. The beginning of that change
:08:23. > :08:31.is affecting many western areas of the UK. This particular cloud across
:08:32. > :08:36.the North Sea, you can see there is a general drift here towards
:08:37. > :08:42.Scotland and the North Sea coasts. It has been cold and cloudy and I
:08:43. > :08:45.think that cloud will drift further southwards and westwards through the
:08:46. > :08:47.course of the night. There will be a gloomy start to the