End of an era as Kellingley colliery gets set to close
THE deep coal mines at Kellingley are set to be closed on December 18, with 400 workers losing their jobs before Christmas.
The North Yorkshire mines, operated by UK Coal, are the last in the UK and are closing amid controversy surrounding the support packages to the miners.
MPs have been urged to rethink the package they are offering the miners, who will receive statutory redundancy, capped at £14,250, with many receiving only £9,500.
Until 2013, workers were guaranteed a far more lucrative pay-off under a deal that had existed since the 1984-85 miners’ strike.
The bill to help the miners is expected to reach £30m according to estimates earlier this year.
A £4m loan from the Government last year was agreed to help with the managed closure of Kellingley and Thoresby in Nottinghamshire.
More than £15m was received from suppliers, customers and other stakeholders to alongside the Government loan.
This year, the Government rejected a £300m bailout to help the mining industry continue on until 2018.
Hatfield, a South Yorkshire colliery, was closed at the end of June 2015.
In 2014, a £200m energy centre on the Kellingley site was given the green light.
The Southmoor Energy Centre is predicted to produce enough electricity to power around 63,000 homes and divert waste from landfill. Developers of the project, Peel Environments, have said the scheme will create 38 jobs.
A garden dedicated to those who worked in the mining industry was opened at the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield this weekend, to commemorate those that have lived and died in the industry.
