Work begins to build nearly 350 new homes on Doncaster colliery site

Work has got under way to build nearly 350 new homes on the site of a former Doncaster colliery.
The new Skylarks Grange development.The new Skylarks Grange development.
The new Skylarks Grange development.

Housebuilder Keepmoat Homes has begun initial preparatory works at the former Brodsworth Colliery site where it plans to create 342 new properties over the next eight years.

The £45m Skylarks Grange development on Long Lands Lane will be built on land where the pit stood until its closure in 1990.

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The estate, within minutes of J38 of the A1, will comprise of a range of terrace, semi-detached and detached two, three and four bedroom homes, built to appeal to first time buyers, families and downsizers.

Brodsworth Colliery is demolished in 1992.Brodsworth Colliery is demolished in 1992.
Brodsworth Colliery is demolished in 1992.

A spokesman for Keepmoat said: "As well as providing much needed new housing in Doncaster, the new development will deliver significant benefits for the wider community, including jobs and training opportunities. Community engagement remains a priority for Keepmoat Homes which is pledging to maximise the use of local labour, ensuring people and businesses in the surrounding area are benefitting from the substantial investment. "

Chris Penn, Operation Director at Keepmoat Homes, said: “Brodsworth Colliery is such an important part of Doncaster’s history that we’re delighted to be involved in its transformation.

"Local people have been hearing about the fantastic regeneration plans for the former colliery for some time, so it’s great to finally be starting on site and getting the wheels in motion for them to deliver a great new community for existing and new residents.”

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Marie Kiddell, Head of Public Land at the Homes and Communities Agency said: “It is fantastic to see work starting at Brodsworth, where Keepmoat will make such a positive impact on the local community by providing homes, jobs and training opportunities.

The pit was the biggest in Yorkshire.The pit was the biggest in Yorkshire.
The pit was the biggest in Yorkshire.

“By providing a mix of house sizes and types as well as offering Hep to Buy, the development will offer the greatest possible choice to local people.”

Brodsworth Colliery was Doncaster's biggest pit during its lifetime.

Two shafts were sunk between October 1905 and 1907 and after a third shaft was sunk in 1923, Brodsworth, the largest colliery in Yorkshire, had the highest output of a three-shaft colliery in Britain.

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The colliery was consistently amongst those that employed the most miners in Britain, employing around 2,800 workers throughout the 1980s before it shut in 1990.

Since the colliery closure, its spoil tip has been restored and developed as a community woodland.