Pioneering firm is now harnessing heat to grow

PIONEERING North East business has become the first in the UK to harness heat from disused coal mines to aid its operations.

- COREENA FORD

Lanchester Wines is one of the UK’s leading independent wine importers and merchants, with more than 355,000 sqft feet of warehousing space in Gateshead.

Now the company is toasting a major milestone in the expansion of mine water heat technology across the region, after making history as the first private investor in Britain to draw heat from abandoned underground coal mines. The move is creating sufficient heat for its massive warehousing, pioneering the use of open loop water source heat pump technology.

The technology has been made possible following a new mine water heat access agreement, struck between Lanchester Wine Cellars Ltd and the Mining Remediation Authority.

The innovative drive is the latest bold move by the group, which includes Greencroft Bottling, Spicers of Hythe, Lanchester Wines, Full Circle Brew Co, Lanchester Wine Cellars Ltd, The Wine Fusion, Bon Bon's and Spicers of Hythe. Founded by Tony and Veronica Cleary in 1980 it has been grown into a business with strong sustainability credentials.

Huge advocates of renewable energy, the firm led the development of a new self-powered bottling plant, believed to be most sustainable large building on the planet.