Cutting-edge digital and green energy plan unveiled for Chatterley Whitfield

A bold vision to put the former Chatterley Whitfield Colliery at the centre of a multi-faceted digital and renewable energy generation scheme has been unveiled.

The aim is to use the site to house cutting-edge digital developments – such as data storage centres – as well as tap into the former mine’s latent heat energy to power up a District Heat Network.

The project, called the Black to Green Eco park, would sit within the wider Digital and Energy Growth Zone that Chatterley Whitfield is located in.

It aligns with the wider Silicon Stoke vision and the city council’s corporate priorities to make Stoke-on-Trent a greener, cleaner and more skilled city.

The plans were unveiled at this year’s UKREiiF event – The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum – that is taking place in Leeds from 20th to 22nd May.

The city council is attending to highlight this and many more exciting regeneration opportunities available in the city to potential developers and investors.

Chatterley Whitfield is a disused coal mine on the outskirts of Chell and Ball Green. It is owned and managed by the city council and comprises 10.5 hectares of former mining buildings within a wider 100-hectare location and country park setting.

Part of the site is designated as a Scheduled Monument and it features 12 listed buildings incorporating the original mine workings, headgears and railway sidings.

The first part of the proposed project centres on the fact the site has substantial electrical grid capacity for digital developments. Working with National Grid, the city council has established that up to 150MW could be economically deliverable and this would enable rapid data centre roll out - linked to the UK’s AI Growth Zone agenda.

The second part is an integrated renewable energy scheme. At its core is a mine energy heat project which would recover low-grade heat from former mine workings and upgrade this through heat pump technology.

This higher-grade heat could then be used in both the site buildings and through a District Heat Network to heat other parts of the city.

In addition, the data centre would provide additional waste heat that could be channelled into the District Heat Network, greatly increasing its reach and scale.         

Alongside the mine workings and data centre heat, part of the site is also in final development of a 10MW photovoltaic solar farm and adjacent to the site a 49MW battery storage system, along with a 20MHW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) peaking plant already in operation.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker – Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Regeneration at Stoke-on-Trent City Council – said: “This is how we build a better future for the people of this great city.

“We’re taking a site that powered the past and turning it into something that will power the future. Good-paying jobs, lower energy bills, and a cleaner, more sustainable Stoke-on-Trent for generations to come.

“It’s not green for the sake of it. It’s green because it brings real benefits: cheaper heating for families, skilled work in the industries of tomorrow, and energy that doesn’t cost the earth.

“This project is about making life better for people in Stoke-on-Trent, and we’re not waiting around for someone else to do it. We’re getting on with the job and making sure this city leads the way.”