Housing plans for former pit sites

Parts of the Goldthorpe and Carlton colliery sites, which have been disused since the end of the mining industry, now have permission which should eventually see housing on each site, though it is unclear how quickly that is likely to happen.

Barnsley Council’s planning board has approved a lapsed planning permission which could see around 125 homes go up on a site off Kingsmark Way in Goldthorpe, which is part of the former Goldthorpe colliery site.

Originally, the council’s intention was that the land should be used for employment, but they lost a planning appeal in 2006 which cleared the way for housing development, though it never went ahead.

The most recent permission lapsed and has now been renewed, but there is no indication about when work might start on developing the site, which councillors were also told has become a focus for anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.

Councillors who granted the planning permission also asked that the council’s enforcement team take action to try to ensure the landowner took action to clear rubbish from the site.

Meanwhile, planning permission was also granted for restoration work at the former Carlton colliery site, off Shaw Lane, which has also had a chequered history.

Permission was granted years ago to remove shale from the site and carry out restoration work, but that has stalled and the site has changed ownership.

Now it is likely to form part of the council’s long term plans for new housing, though a final decision on that has not yet been made.

The final use of the land will influence the type of final restoration work needed, meaning councillors who granted permission for the work to continue were not expecting any immediate action.