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Derbyshire County Council has
announced that a Derby based company, which specialises in
cleaning up environmental damage has been appointed to clean up
the contaminated lagoons in Grassmoor. The lagoons on the former
colliery tip next to Grassmoor Country Park contain tar and
contaminated liquid from the former Avenue Coke Works run by
British Coal.
Remedex has been awarded the £4.9m
contract to remove the toxins and restore the site to woodland
which will be opened up to the public as part of the surrounding
park.
Funding to remove toxins from the
lagoons was secured by the County Council from the Government’s
Department of Energy and Climate Change and East Midlands
Development Agency. Detailed environmental assessments of the
site and surrounding area are being carried out and local
residents and park users will be consulted on what they think
about the park and the proposals. A planning application for the
necessary works is hopefully to be submitted in February 2010.
Approval from the Environment Agency will also be needed before
the decontamination process can start.
It’s expected the area will be opened
up to the public in 2014 and details about the plans will be
made available to local people over coming months.
Councillor Betty Hill, Chairman of the
Parish was delighted with the announcement "This is very good
news for Grassmoor and the surrounding area as it demonstrates
that progress is at last being made and it is long overdue. Many
local people have fought long and hard to make the clean up
process a reality and now it is a significant step nearer. I
would like to thank members of the Parish Council and all the
members of the local community who have campaigned for this over
the last 15 years. I would particularly like to thank County
Councillor David Chapman for his help in bringing this about and
also Peter Storey, Principal Engineer for Reclamation,
Regeneration and Surveying for the County Council for his
tireless efforts to ensure that the clearing up of the Lagoons
became a reality. Hopefully in 2014 we will have a clean site
which can be enjoyed by local people.”
There will inevitably be some odour
problems during the clean up works. These will be kept to a
minimum and will also be strictly monitored. If you have any
concerns about the project or if you would simply like to find
out more, both the County Council and the Parish Council are
committed to keeping you up to date with developments. The
County Council will be publishing a regular newsletter which
will be widely distributed. Articles will also feature in the
Grassmoor Community Newsletter. Alternatively, you can visit the
website which has been specifically set up by the County Council
by clicking on the link below. The Parish Council will also
provide information via this website.
www.grassmoorlagoons.info |
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