Praise for Banks restoration projects
Company’s ‘restoration first’ approach wins recognition from British Land Reclamation Association
THE quality of the restoration work carried out at Banks Mining’s North East surface mining schemes has been recognized by a party of visiting industry experts.
A delegation from the British Land Reclamation Society (BLRS) visited a number of the company’s sites to see how it manages the land it utilizes, and how the company’s ‘restoration first’ approach brings specific benefits for the communities around the mines both during and after coaling.
The 25-strong BLRS party, who came from locations across the UK, visited Banks’ operational Shotton and Brenkley Lane surface mines, near Cramlington, before going on to the nearby and recently completed 46ha South Park on the Blagdon Estate, which formed part of the company’s Delhi surface mine.
This land has been specifically restored to recreate a 200-year-old Northumberland landscape that was lost decades ago, and a plan of the Estate from 1755 as well as aerial photographs from the 1940s were used by Banks to design its restoration.
The project was completed in early 2013 in the style of famed Northumberland-born landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, who had influenced the land’s original layout.
The BLRS group, which encompassed both serving industry professionals and students, also visited the £3 million Northumberlandia landform, which lies on land adjacent to the Shotton mine and was developed to deliver a lasting positive legacy for both the local area and the wider region at an early stage in the development of the mine, rather than after the end of mining operations.
Mike Poremba, a Gateshead-based member of the BLRS’s executive committee, said: ‘Having these sites in such close proximity gave us a unique chance to see surface mining operations in a number of different stages, from an operational site and one where restoration work is ongoing, to an area which has been mined twice in the last 60 years and which is now being restored to its historical status.
‘This excellent example of restoration work helps to bring the theory of our practice to life, and the exchange of information we enjoyed through the day, especially about the history and current status of each of the projects, was extremely valuable to all our delegates.
‘The Northumberlandia project has previously been featured in our Society’s publication, so the visit was a great chance for our members from outside the North East to see it for themselves in its proper context.’
Mark Simmons, landscape architect with the Banks Group, who hosted the BLRS visit, added: ‘Our responsibility for the land that we work lasts for many years after we finish coaling – the restoration and aftercare of a site is just as much of a priority as the operational side of any scheme, and we aim to deliver a lasting positive legacy for both the local area and the wider region at the earliest possible stage of our mining operations.
‘A huge amount of careful planning and detailed work goes into our restoration schemes to ensure the final outcomes match our ambitions, and we’re pleased to have got such a positive response to our work in the North East from these experts in their field.’
