New lives for former collieries – as housing estates

HOW COALFIELD COMMUNITIES ARE BEING TRANSFORMED SINCE NOTTS’ LAST PIT CLOSED IN 2015

- By LAUREN MONAGHAN Local Democracy Reporter

TEN years have passed since Nottinghamshire’s last remaining coal mine closed down and a number of former pits are currently being transformed into housing developments.

The county has an extensive mining history spanning around 750 years, but this era came to an end with the closure of Thoresby Colliery in Edwinstowe in 2015 following the financial difficulties of its owner, UK Coal.

Nottinghamshire’s coalfields were among the most successful in Europe where, at its peak, there were 42 collieries and 40,000 miners.

This is how five of the county’s key former pit sites are being reshaped to meet growing housing demand.

Clipstone Colliery

The ex-coal mining village of Clipstone just outside Mansfield was home to one of the top-producing mines in the country.

Clipstone Colliery operated between 1922 and 2003 and was one of the most productive pits in Britain, producing almost a million tonnes of coal a year at its peak in the mid-1980s.

The former headstocks are listed by Historic England and were the tallest in England at more than 200 feet.

Housing Developer HarperCrewe had its plans to build 126 homes at the site in Mansfield Road formally approved by Newark and Sherwood District Council in July 2025 where 38 of the properties were originally set to be affordable homes.

But a recent shift has seen all homes now being classed as affordable, with 88 set for social rent and 38 for shared ownership. These will be managed by housing association Platform Housing Group.

Work is now progressing at the colliery and the first homes are expected to be ready by Spring 2026.

The development of the site is part of a wider regeneration of the local area which will see significant investment by Newark & Sherwood District Council in open space, community facilities and sports pitches for the community.

Gedling Colliery