Government announces decontamination of Avenue Coking Works in Chesterfield and boosts Coalfield Regeneration Trust by £35m.
The government has allocated £104.5m towards the clean up of 240-acres of contaminated land in Chesterfield.
The money will be allocated from the £386.5m National Coalfields Programme and will help create homes, leisure facilities and nature reserves at the former Avenue Coking Works.
Deputy prime minister John Prescott also announced today (Tuesday) an extra £35m for the Coalfield Regeneration Trust and £12m more for an existing £25m project tackling low-demand for housing in the Meden Valley in East Midlands. English Partnerhips and East Midlands Development Agency will acquire properties in the Meden Valley and undertake a programme of demolition, refurbishment, new build and public works.
Prescott said: “We have worked hard since 1997 to repair the damage done to our coalfields and today’s extra £35m is part of a larger regeneration programme worth over £500m. This money will help create jobs, homes, facilities, education and better quality of life that our coalfield communities need and deserve.”
The decontamination of Avenue Coking Works will take place on site and the process will be lead by East Midlands Development Agency and English Partnerships. The hazardous waste will be treated on site because the new European Landfill Directive now makes it more expensive to dispose of contaminated soil in landfill sites.
The National Coalfield Programme’s £386.5m budget overseen by English Partnerships and regional development agencies is being used to remediate 100 coalfield sites across the UK.
