Innovative project - Selby coalfield still producing energy!

Following the first phase of workings on the Selby mine, when it became uneconomic to continue developing the mine for its original purpose of coal extraction, UK Coal invested in the construction  of a power generation unit on the Stillingfleet site. As ground water gradually rises in the old drift mine workings, the methane emerging from the coal seams is forced to the top of the original man-riding shaft where it is captured and burnt for electricity generation. This facility is now owned by private equity group Capital Dynamics Clean Energy which has investments in similar generating facilities at Kellingley, Thoresby and Harworth providing a total of 26 Megawatts exported to the grid from 14 gas engines.

This is seen as a beneficial use of a potent greenhouse gas which would otherwise be discharged to atmosphere or flared off. It also makes use of some of the built assets on the old mine site, and uses the pre-existing electrical connections to the grid. The operation is unobtrusive: very little traffic is generated and negligible noise and light and smell pollution is evident.

The Stillingfleet site currently has planning permission to continue this activity until 2024, when the economics will be re-assessed based on the rate of recovery of methane at that time.

The next meeting of the Trustee Board of CPRE North will be held on the 22 of November at 10.30 Location Golden Fleece HOtel

The afternoon session will be a focus on Redcar & Cleveland and Coastal planning authorities with representatives from both district groups welcome

Damned if you do and damned if you don’t!

There recently was an appeal running concurrently with the  application at Hellifield - twin tracking

From Planning resource

Officers recommend delaying local plan to reflect on Brexit impact

13 October 2016 by David Dewar 

A Yorkshire council's officers have recommended delaying its local plan timetable to take account of a potential reduction in housing requirements and the impact of Brexit on job growth forecasts, it has emerged.

Craven District Council officers are proposing that its local plan preparation timetable should be revised to allow time for further scrutiny of latest government figures on housing need. 

A report to members by the council’s spatial planning manager Sian Watson says initial analysis of latest government household projections and regional job forecasts "appears to indicate a modest reduction in the baseline dwelling requirement and also a more significant reduction in the dwelling requirement for job growth".

The report, to be considered by the council’s spatial planning sub-committee next week, adds that this analysis was based on pre-Brexit data, and notes that further post-Brexit job growth forecasts have just been released.

"These updated post-Brexit job growth forecasts are currently being analysed to see what effect they may have on dwelling requirements for job growth," it says.

It had been intended that the plan would be published in September and submitted in December 2016, with adoption in 2017. 

But the new proposed timetable envisages publication in May 2017 and submission in July.

Watson’s report says the council has commissioned an update to the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) to review the latest figures and recommend if adjustments need to be made to the objectively-assessed housing need (OAHN) figure.

"If the SHMA concludes that there is significant change to the OAHN for Craven, this will have implications for both the spatial strategy, the provision of affordable housing and housing site allocations," it says.

The council has also received a barrister’s opinion on progress so far, the report says, advising that two further pieces of evidence - an infrastructure delivery plan and viability testing - need to be prepared to enable the plan to be found sound at examination.