Plans for former Chatterley Whitfield colliery submitted for go-ahead
Press release from English Partnerships - 13 August 2004>
National regeneration agency, English Partnerships, has today submitted a planning application for the first phase of works at the former Chatterley Whitfield colliery site in Stoke-on-Trent.
Chatterley Whitfield is recognised as the best remaining example of a coalmining complex in the UK and as such, part of the site was given Scheduled Ancient Monument status by English Heritage in 1993.
In 1999 The Chatterley Whitfield Partnership was formed to create a positive future for the 80 ha site to benefit the local community and the wider region. The Partnership, initiated by English Heritage, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Joan Walley MP, also includes Advantage West Midlands, the Government Office for the West Midlands and the Heritage Lottery Fund. In 2002 the site was also added to English Partnerships’ £386.5m National Coalfields Programme, which is designed to breathe new life into coalfield communities across England following the widespread pit closures of the 1980s and 1990s.
The planning application submitted today includes the provision of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) business accommodation and skills training in the former Main Office complex adjacent to the site entrance. A future planning application will be submitted shortly to upgrade the access road between the A527 and the Chatterley Whitfield project site itself.
The planning application has been prepared by Fielden Clegg Bradley Architects who have been appointed to undertake the masterplanning of the site and the architectural refurbishment of the office complex. The works associated with this planning application and the future access road upgrade are part of a package being jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and English Partnerships.
Neil Mortimer, Senior Regeneration Manager for Coalfields at English Partnerships, said, “The team has been working very hard over the last year alongside the local community and stakeholders to develop a plan which will sustain a wide variety of social, economic and environmental mixes. The proposed plan we have submitted to Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the first step in bringing forward a unique vision of a place with a strong sense of identity which enhances and respects the heritage of the area.”
Andrew Patterson, Project Director at English Heritage with responsibility for Chatterley Whitfield, added, “The plans for Chatterley Whitfield aim to conserve, interpret and develop the potential of this tremendous site to the highest international standards as a beacon of good practice and heritage-led regeneration. The building-skills training proposed within the refurbished Main Office complex can assist local people in taking advantage of the investment in Chatterley Whitfield and indeed the investment in the wider city regeneration.”
Subject to planning approval being granted, works are expected to commence on site early in the New Year. It is anticipated that this phased approach to the regeneration of Chatterley Whitfield will stimulate further interest in the development of the scheme.