Brewery objects to mine site regeneration plan

The former mine and surrounding land have been empty for 20 years

A derelict coal mine in North Yorkshire that closed 20 years ago could be regenerated under plans considered by councillors.

The Gascoigne Wood Colliery site, near Selby, has been disused since UK Coal mothballed it in 2004.

Tadcaster-based brewery Samuel Smith's has objected to developers Harworth Group's plans for an industrial and logistics park - citing concerns for the area's "character".

A council planning committee is due to have the final say at a meeting on 11 June.

Numerous applications to redevelop the area have been put forward and rejected since the pit's closure, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A proposal was turned down by councillors in 2018 and again at appeal in 2020, for having poor transport links and being an “inappropriate development in the open countryside”.

The new scheme would see several large buildings built close to the Selby to Leeds railway line.

'Compatible with countryside'

Documents state the project would take 10 years to complete and the proposal would involve the loss of no farmland, as the proposed drainage basin to serve the business park would remain in agricultural use.

Sherburn Aero Club, which has an airfield next to the colliery, has raised concerns over new buildings causing turbulence effects.

The site was the scene of clashes between pit workers and police during the Miners' Strike in 1984

Samuel Smith's, which has been run by the same family since 1847, objected, saying the scheme would be detrimental to the character of the area.

But planning officers have recommended the plans be approved.

Their report said the latest proposal “represents a more appropriate scale of development” than previous plans, and was “compatible with the countryside location”.

It added that studies had revealed turbulence impacts on the airfield “would not be excessive” and while the site was distant from Sherburn in Elmet, a package of network improvements and sustainable transport improvements, including a shuttle bus, had been proposed.

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