Ex-mining site to be redeveloped

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Hundreds of homes and a business park are to be built on a 300-acre former colliery site in West Yorkshire.

About 1,000 new jobs are expected to be created after plans to redevelop the former Prince of Wales colliery site by UK Coal were approved.

The scheme had been referred to the government which has decided it should not intervene in the plan.

A date for work at the Pontefract site has yet to be announced. Over 900 houses are envisaged in the plan.

UK Coal's chief executive Jon Lloyd said: "The decision by the secretary of state now paves the way for the regeneration of an area with excellent communication links, a versatile and enthusiastic workforce and a community with a desire to move forward."

Development director Tim Love added: "We look forward to turning the blueprint of a new future into a reality."

Work on removing coal slurry from the site has been under way for some time and the new consent will now allow a further 1.5m tonnes of slurry to be extracted from the former colliery lagoons.

UK Coal said preparations for the site's development were in hand, though the start date for the housing development remains under regular review "due to the continued fragile state of the housing market".