Former pit site to be used for 150 homes as plan is finally approved

A FORMER pit site in Yorkshire which closed more than three decades ago will finally be transformed into housing after council planners approved the project.

The scheme, which is being overseen by developer Kier Living, will see 150 new homes built on the five hectares of land of Fryston Colliery, after the pit shut 32 years ago.

The development has now been approved by Wakefield Council and will provide a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached one to five-bed homes, as well as car parking and gardens.

The proposals are a re-submission of an application for the development last year, although the plans had to be put on hold due to legal issues.

A need was highlighted for the development to include affordable homes as part of a so-called section 106 agreement, and 35 cheaper properties will now form part of the plans.

Situated next to Fryston’s village country park and nature trails, a five-bedroom house, 35 four-bedroom homes, 70 threebedroom properties and 44 twobedroom homes and flats will be built.

Fryston Colliery opened in the 1870s in the grounds of Fryston Hall and the village was built during the 1880s to house the miners who worked there.

At its peak, the colliery had more than 1,300 miners working at the site.

After the pit’s closure in 1985, the colliery buildings were demolished.

The site was then reclaimed and earmarked for development as part of the Castleford Growth Delivery Plan, which was drawn up to attract more than £40m of investment into the West Yorkshire town.