Jennie Shearan

Eliza Jane 'Jennie' Shearan was born in Hebburn in November 1922. In 1953, Jennie and her family moved on to the newly built Monkton Lane Estate. 

The estate had been built next to Monkton Coke works, which was built in response to the Jarrow March and local unemployment, and sustained local employment for decades but increasingly drew criticism for the environmental impact on the area. Incoming residents to the new estate were assured that the Coke Works, would close down within two years. However, over decades the works continued to grow, converting ever-increasing quantities of coal into coke with the hazardous sulphur dioxide fumes, acrid smoke and constant soot negatively affecting the health and quality of life of local residents.   

In 1973, aged 51, Jennie was elected as Councillor for Hebburn and continued in this role until 1986.  

During this time she became involved in a number of high-profile campaigns, notably a successful 1981 campaign to grant the residents of the houses close to the Coke Works with rent rebates as compensation for the air and noise pollution from the plant. In 1984 she was elected as Vice Chairman of Tyne and Wear County Council and the following year in March 1985, Jennie was elected as the Chairman of Tyne and Wear County Council, the first woman to be installed in this role. 

In 1986, National Smokeless Fuels had applied for an extension to their activity on the Monkton Coke Works site. The extension included a proposal to build a gas turbine, as well as a new chimney to disperse the elements of combustion. 

From 1987 Jennie led the Hebburn Residents' Action Group campaign against Monkton Coke Works and their owners National Smokeless Coal, which became a landmark case in community action against pollution.  

Following years of campaigning, two public enquiries, and an appeal to High Court, in 1992 the Chairman of British Coal made the final announcement that their planning applications would be dropped and the plant would be demolished. In the years that followed, Jennie was closely involved in the planning of how the contaminated land would be dealt with and how the space would be used. Today, it is the site of Monkton Community Woodlands and Business Park. 

The campaign against National Smokeless Fuels was a landmark in many ways: 

• It catalysed the creation of the Environmental Law Foundation which today helps communities throughout the country get access to legal support in their fight for environmental justice; 
• The use of European Union legislation on air pollution was the first of its kind in a UK case; 
• The community-led health surveys that Jennie created became the blueprint for future health studies, with Newcastle University’s epidemiological report on the correlation between a coke works and the health of the nearby residents also being the first of its kind.