New lease of life for the country’s most valuable mining complex

Press release from Engllish Partnerships - 1 November 2004

The transformation of the derelict Chatterley Whitfield colliery in Stoke-on-Trent has moved a step closer.

Architects have submitted a planning application on behalf of national regeneration agency English Partnerships to change the use of the existing buildings. The application will seek to use the buildings for skills training, office accommodation, light engineering, small-scale renewable energy and community resources.

Potential uses for the diverse collection of existing buildings and structures have been carefully selected to ensure both preservation of an important part of mining history, and to provide a vibrant new mix of activities to create a fully sustainable future for this unique setting and the surrounding communities.

A planning application will also shortly be submitted for improvements to the access road to the site, including a new roundabout at the junction to the entrance of the site.

Chatterley Whitfield Colliery closed in 1976, with the loss of thousands of local jobs. It is recognised as the best remaining example of a coalmining complex in the UK. Six of its 34 buildings are listed and it is so important historically that it has the same United Kingdom preservation status as Stonehenge.

Local people have been consulted on the colliery’s future, which could include skills training, incubator office accommodation, manufacturing, small-scale electricity generation and heritage interpretation of the site.

It has been a priority in the design of this masterplan to ensure that proposed new uses for Chatterley Whitfield address identified local and regional issues, and will provide an opportunity for additional private and public investment, job creation and education and skills training, alongside the conservation and wider understanding of an important part of the industrial heritage.

Rob Pearson, Head of National Programmes at English Partnerships, said: “We cannot overstate the importance of regenerating this unique site. Its sensitive restoration will provide a heritage site of international importance, and a valuable asset for local people, who will benefit from education and community facilities, and employment in new businesses.”

Andrew Patterson, Project Director at English Heritage, said: “The community have been closely involved in discussions on the site. We hope they will continue helping to shape the project, and make full use of and benefit from the facilities when it is complete.”

Chatterley Whitfield was added to the National Coalfields Programme in 2002. Managed by English Partnerships, the programme aims to create new jobs, homes, leisure facilities and open space in former coalfield communities throughout England.

English Partnerships is working in partnership with English Heritage, Stoke-on-Trent City council, which owns the land, and Advantage West Midlands, the government office for the West Midlands.

Chatterley Whitfield facts:

• The 11-hectare site was closed in 1976 after 140 years of mining.
• It was one of the first pits to be electrified.
• It introduced welfare facilities for miners long before legislation made it a requirement.
• In 1939 it was the first pit in the country to produce one million tonnes of coal in a year.
• Its spoil heap was, at one time, the biggest in Europe.
• At its peak it employed 4,000 people.
• The whole site is scheduled as an Ancient Monument. Six of its 34 pit buildings are listed.