School children from Castleford have been warned to stay away from building sites over the summer holidays, as part of a safety awareness campaign set up by Glasshoughton land developers, Waystone Ltd.
The initiative is part of an overall mining awareness campaign for local schools, giving an insight into the history of mining, and showing how the site of the former colliery is now being transformed into one of the most prestigious and dynamic developments in the North.
The children were given the chance to talk to retired miners about their life down the pit and a collection of mining memorabilia on loan from the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield provided added interest. They were also treated to a Land Rover tour of the site to see for themselves how the massive reclamation project is progressing.
Tracy Bodle, Glasshoughton Community Liaison Officer, said: "The children are naturally curious about what's going on here at Glasshoughton and with the on-set of the summer holidays, their curiosity can get the better of them. A controlled tour by Land Rover is an extremely safe and effective way to show them the sights, while reinforcing the potential dangers."
Waystone and Glasshoughton Investments Ltd confirmed that they had received detailed planning consent for the Glasshoughton Leisure Mountain. The parties have reached agreement with a national company to carry out the development, which will cost in excess of £50m.
Commenting on the decision Stuart McLoughlin, Managing Director of Waystone, said: "It is another vital step towards creating the destination leisure resort envisaged when the Glasshoughton scheme was first conceived. It will be several months yet before work can start on the 20 acre site but detailed design work on the complex building is already under way and that is good news for the local community."
Two leading Brownfield sites, developed by Nottingham-based land regeneration specialists Waystone Ltd, have been reinforced by the arrival of one of the world's leading food retailers.
McDonalds has opened restaurants at Waystone's Glasshoughton site off junction 32 of the M62 and Barlborough Link’s development off junction 30 of the M1 - both sites of former collieries that have been transformed into thriving new centres of leisure and industry. The sites matched McDonalds requirements for easy access while promising potentially high footfall due to the large customer bases within each catchment area.
The new outlets are part of a multi-million pound expansion plan by the fast food chain that aim to open an additional 107 restaurants in the UK during the year 2000.
Stuart McLoughlin, Managing Director of Waystone Ltd said: "We always knew Glasshoughton and Barlborough were prime sites. This investment by McDonalds will strengthen what are already two of the most prestigious and dynamic developments in the North."
Pupils at a Castleford school are discovering about life after the classroom thanks to an initiative that puts local employees directly in touch with school children, via e-mail.
The Industrial Penpals scheme allows pupils at Henry Moore Junior School to regularly communicate with staff at the Glasshoughton redevelopment, giving them an insight into their working life and an understanding of their role in this massive reclamation project. Set up by environmental charity Groundwork Wakefield and Glasshoughton land reclaimers Waystone Ltd, the scheme aims to provide children with a better understanding of industry to help them make informed decisions about their future career path, while educating them on the merits of recycling for the environment.
Earlier this year, Henry Moore pupils were invited to the Glasshoughton site to talk to retired miners about their life down the pit and see for themselves the tools that were used for the job. They were also treated to a Land Rover tour of the site to see how the development is progressing.
Glasshoughton Community Liaison Officer, Tracy Bodle explains; "By developing links between the local school and our workforce, we're giving kids the opportunity to experience industry and forge personal links with individuals. They're fascinated about the goings on here and are equally curious about the various careers and what they entail. At the end of the day, we're giving them a wider vision and if only one child comes out of it saying 'Yes, I can do that!' then we've achieved something significant."
Coal mining, past and present, will be celebrated later this month at a special party organised by Waystone, the developers of the Glasshoughton site. You are invited to send a reporter/photographer along to the event.
The Glasshoughton Open Day takes place on Thursday, 17 August and concludes with a charity evening barbecue. The event hopes to attract visitors from across the area and promises to be a fun and interesting day out for the whole family.
Visitors will experience life as it was down the pit with a series of talks by retired miners. Imaginations will be fuelled by a display of fascinating coal mining memorabilia, kindly supplied by The National Coal Mining Museum. In addition, local author Frank Poskett will be on hand, signing copies of his book 'My Life with Miners and Disasters' and Mrs Lockwood, a colourful character dressed in the style of a post war housewife will spice up proceedings with her tales of a 1940's mining community. A series of Land Rover tours of the Glasshoughton site will give visitors the opportunity to see how the 335 acre former colliery site is being transformed into one of the North's most prestigious and dynamic developments.
Special guest stars include Carl the pit pony, which is the last pony in England to be brought out of deep mining. He'll be joined by popular local character, JT from the Castleford Tigers who'll be in goal for a special penalty shoot out, with fantastic prizes on offer to hotshot strikers.
The Glasshoughton Open Day takes place at the Castleford Miner's Welfare on Leeds Road, starting at 12.30pm on Thursday, 17 August. The charity barbecue starts at 5.30pm. Proceeds from the day will go to the Miner's Welfare Redevelopment Scheme and Cancer Research.
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