Pit owners want more time to draw up plans for the Wistow and Stillingfleet sites near Selby, saying they can harness cheap electricity from what was one of the world's largest coal sites to power a new office and leisure complex.

The Wistow and Stillingfleet sites are both part of the former Selby pits complex, which in its heyday employed more than 3,800 people at five former shaft mines at North Selby, Riccall, Stillingfleet, Whitemoor and Wistow along with a drift mine and disposal point at Gascoigne Wood.

The original planning permission required the Wistow site to be restored to its former condition on or before 12 months from the last date the coal seam was worked for coal, which was October 2005. A similar rule applied at Stillingfleet, which closed in July 2004.

Both sites are in rolling countryside, but access roads, car parking areas and outbuildings still remain on the site.

UK Coal had already lost a planning battle with Selby Council for permission for a change of use of much of the land for business, industrial and warehouse use. The scheme was refused because of fears it would be out of place in the open countryside and increase traffic.

Now the company is seeking consent not to comply with the original planning conditions and postpone restoration until October 2011.

That would allow the company to develop a scheme to use a ready made supply of energy which is still on tap – even after the pits stopped working electricity generators had to be kept running to burn off gas which could have created a hazard in the abandoned workings.

UK Coal Mining Ltd was given consent in 2006 to install four electricity generators to dispose of methane which was naturally gravitating towards the Stillingfleet shaft. The equipment converted the gas to electricity.

Although a temporary permission, it was soon realised that the mines would continue to produce coal-bed methane for a number of years, requiring the generators to be operational for some time, the report adds.

As Wistow benefits from a high capacity electrical link to Stillingfleet, UK Coal believes the whole site could become a showcase for eco-friendly building, combining recreational and leisure with a high-value business location, including several tennis courts and a swimming pool with spa facilities.

However, there is pressure for the site to be cleaned up – particularly from those who campaigned against it being used for mining in the first place, when permission was granted "in the interests of the nation".

Parish councillors, Selby Council, and district councillors have all objected to the application for more time, which is recommended for refusal at a county planning meeting on Tuesday.

North Yorkshire's corporate director of business and environmental services, Richard Flinton, said: "Nearly four years have elapsed since the mine closed in 2004 and in that time the applicant has not been able to secure an acceptable new use for the site.

"What demand there is for units of this type could be easily be accommodated on one of the other former mine sites such as nearby Riccall, which have very similar buildings and have recently been given planning permission on appeal."