Clipstone Colliery: Owner in row over Coal Authority safety work

Owner Stuart Mills aims to open a museum at the colliery

The owner of a former colliery in Nottinghamshire says an industry body is jeopardising plans for the site.

Stuart Mills wants to make Clipstone Colliery, which has the world's largest headstock, into a mining museum.

However, he says the Coal Authority, which is spending more than £1m making the site safe, has gone back on promises to restore heritage assets.

The authority said the work would be a "permanent safety solution" to ensure the future of the headstocks.

Safety works need to take place before Mr Mills can open the site as a museum.

But the owner said the authority was currently acting against the local planning authority.

Mr Mills said workers were about to concrete over the pit shaft rather than create an opening to show how it used to be.

"The Coal Authority are concreting over Clipstone's history and it's really not acceptable," he said.

"We're going to have a museum here to show people and tell that mining story."

Mr Mills said some restoration work had not been started

Mr Mills said the Coal Authority had also promised to restore the cage which took miners underground, but work had not yet begun.

Mark Spencer, Conservative MP for Sherwood, said Clipstone was being "held back" by the delays.

"I want to see progress," he said.

"It's a spectacular structure but it's been like this for 20 years.

"We need to see the site developed, we need to see investment in the village and falling out over these little niggles isn't helping anybody."

The Coal Authority said: "These complicated engineering works are being carried out as agreed with the local authority and will be a permanent safety solution to help secure the future of these famous headstocks.

"We're spending more than £1m to ensure this iconic site is fit for a range of possible uses and can be enjoyed by the wider community for many years to come."