Rossington Colliery Spoil Heap To Be Reclaimed

The Rossington Colliery spoil heap will be reclaimed and restored to public open space for biodiversity enhancement and public recreation. The site comprises the southern part of the former colliery, the associated spoil heap and the agricultural land to the south. This is the first phase of redevelopment and later phases will see residential development on the former pit yard part of the site

RecyCoal is working with Harworth Estates to develop an environmentally-led coal recovery and restoration scheme at the site of the former Rossington Colliery. The planning application, which is the first phase of the reclamation and regeneration of the site, has now been submitted to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council. It is expected that, subject to receipt of planning permission, the plant construction will start early 2012 with coal washing operations commencing later in the year.

The footprint of the proposed scheme covers approximately 112.5ha including extending the site into an area to the south of the existing colliery. Restoration of the site will form a valuable part of local public open space, providing opportunities for nature conservation and public recreation. The proposals comprise the creation of woodland, grassland and wetland habitats.

The woodland areas will cover approximately 29 hectares and involve the planting of around 72,500 trees (2,500 per hectare). Grasslands will cover 49.5 hectares and wetlands (which incorporate some grassland) will occupy around nine hectares. Other proposals include a memorial garden, an area for potential allotments and land that will revert to agricultural use. In order to allow access for public recreation around seven kilometres of footpaths and bridleways are also proposed throughout the site.

Caroline Flint, MP, has welcomed the plan to recycle the colliery waste in preparation for the FARRRS link road and Inland Port development. Caroline said: "The first stage of FARRRS and the Inland Port involves cleaning up a 13 million tonne colliery tip and RecyCoal have got the expertise and plan in place to do this. Their plan will not only create around 70 new jobs and yield 950,000 tonnes of coal over 4 years, but will also create a training base for RecyCoal's future contracts both in the UK and Australia."

Tom Allchurch, RecyCoal’s CEO, commented: “I am delighted that Caroline is keen to see our plan for Rossington succeed, it is closely linked to the FARRRS Project and proposed Inland Port. The reclamation of the site will also provide up to two million cubic metres of clean fill material to significantly reduce the construction costs of these projects. I hope that Rossington residents will take an interest in our planning application and see the benefits that the scheme will deliver for the village.”