How county's last pit site has changed 10 years on

"When the pit shut, I was devastated, absolutely devastated – and it wasn't just about the pit closing; it was the fact that the people you saw every day, you weren't going to see as often, and that was the hardest thing."

It has been 10 years since the last piece of coal was extracted at Thoresby Colliery, marking the end of Nottinghamshire's 750-year mining industry.

Shane Harrison, a fifth-generation miner, has fond memories from the 20 years he spent working there, and, despite his disappointment at its closure, he said it was "nice to see" how the site, near Edwinstowe, had been transformed during a recent visit.

It is now home to a country park, hundreds of houses, and a primary school, which is set to welcome its first pupils in September.

At one time, the pit produced up to 100,000 tonnes in a week, generating profits of £50m a year.

But its closure was announced in April 2014 after owners, UK Coal, fell into financial trouble.

Coal was cut there for the last time on 10 July 2015.

Edwinstowe Historical Society said it was "one of the most productive and profitable coal mines in Europe for many years" and, at one time, it employed 1,500 people.

Shane, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, worked at the colliery between 1995 and 2015.

"One of the best things about working underground was just the people you worked with. It was fantastic," the 47-year-old said.

"The job itself was very, very hard - very very, dangerous - but it became a way of life."

Like Shane, Anthony Kirby was also a fifth-generation miner and he spent 18 years working at the colliery.

"Thoresby's always been the jewel in the crown in Nottinghamshire coalfields," said the 61-year-old from Moorgreen.

"I've worked at Calverton and you were always looking up to Thoresby.

"There was no better sight when you were driving that coal cutting machine... and you're looking at the chain and it's just a river full of diamonds."

Shane was fortunate enough to secure a job before the pit shut and was able to go straight into his new role.

"It was a culture shock from working with up to 700 men, to being in an office environment where you've got ladies and you've got to watch your Ps and Qs," he said.

"It was completely different."

After the pit closed, the Harworth Group announced plans for 800 homes - 250 of which are now occupied - a school, business premises and a country park on the former spoil heap.

Thoresby Vale Country Park - 350 hectares of lowland heathland habitat created in partnership with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust - opened in July 2024.

It is a traditional Sherwood Forest habitat, which had almost totally been wiped out.

It features low-growing vegetation, including heathers, gorse, and other shrubs and grasses.

Janice Bradley MBE, head of nature recovery at the wildlife trust, said working on the project to create the country park was "incredibly exciting".

"It's a fantastic feeling being able to recreate and restore nature at this scale and know that it meaningfully contributes to bringing back some of our scarce bird species," she said.

Wildlife photographer Graeme Pearson, from Edwinstowe, said he loved to visit the new country park.

"The landscape itself, the way it's been transformed and the habitat that's developed for all kinds of birds - ground-nesting birds especially - meadow pipits, skylarks that kind of thing," he said.

"[It's the] perfect environment for them. The heathland is just what they want to live on.

"It's just an amazingly, wonderful place to come."

While much of the site has been redeveloped, the last 192 homes cannot be built until improvements are made to the nearby A614 - including the Ollerton roundabout - the Harworth Group said.

It is the point where several major routes meet and often acts as a bottleneck for traffic from six different directions.

Plans to upgrade the roundabout and the surrounding roads have been in the works for several years.

The Department for Transport said it had "received the full business case for this project, which is currently being reviewed".

Ed Catchpole, national acquisitions director for the Harworth Group, said the scheme could be finished "in the next two to three years", subject to funding for the Ollerton roundabout improvements.

There is also capacity for a further 190 homes to be built at the site, he added, but they will only be approved if the road upgrades are carried out.

Plans to turn the colliery's old workshop into shops, flats and a community centre also depend on the completion of the initial phase of development, Ed added.

A planning application for this is due to be submitted towards the end of the year.

Ed said: "What we'd like to do is take it to the next stage."

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