Turning a coal mine into a housing development is not without its challenges...
But, by bringing together the crucial cocktail of funding, expertise and local partnerships, Cotgrave Colliery is rapidly being transformed into hundreds of new homes for the community in Nottinghamshire.
When the Cotgrave pit closed in 1994, the 34ha site was left derelict. The spoil heap was remediated to form a Country Park in the late 1990s, and 2000 m2 of employment space was also constructed, but it soon became clear that the site could be redeveloped to provide much needed housing for local people.
As the Government’s land agency, responsible for developing and disposing of surplus public land for housing development, the HCA (and its predecessor bodies) took on the brownfield site and began the complicated task of transforming it into land suitable for development.
Outline planning consent for the colliery site was granted in 2010 and two years later we appointed Barratt David Wilson Homes as the preferred developer.
House building is now well underway, with 100 homes already started on site, 40 completed. In total, the £100 million project will deliver more than 460 new homes of which a third will be affordable homes.
We asked Mark Furness, Project and Cost Manager at Barratt David Wilson Homes (BDW), about working with the HCA on such a complex site:
Cotgrave has been a true collaboration between the public and private sector and has enabled significant regeneration of the area, including the delivery of new employment space and training opportunities through local colleges.
Public / private sector partnerships have the power to unlock the potential of large challenging development sites like this one.
For example, plans to deliver the regeneration of the colliery site had been well thought out by the HCA before a private developer partner came on board.
And the fact that the site already had outline planning, and had been cleared and relatively decommissioned before we arrived, certainly made the path to actual development more straightforward.
As a result, BDW were able to complete the remaining clearance and infrastructure works, which unlocked the site for a great residential development. Both the Barratt & David Wilson brands are now building and selling a mixture of residential units in a strong market.
We’ve had a very positive response from the local community. As well as new homes, the regeneration of the colliery site is delivering real employment and training opportunities for the community, as well as significant investment through the planning process into the existing town centre and public amenities.
The development also adheres to a high level of quality, agreed by the HCA and the local authority, Rushcliffe Borough Council. This includes Lifetime Homes and Building for Life. With the country park setting, this gives the developer a distinct product in the local housing market.
Our latest Land Development and Disposal Plan released this week sets out land we’re bringing forward over the next 18 months. It details more than 80 sites currently on the market to developers – who can also benefit from our funding and expertise.