Brownfield | | The Sherwood Energy Village in Ollerton was a great use of an old plot of land |
An old abandoned air base would be a natural place to put an airport. But what do you build on an old disused coalmine? When mining ended in the village of Ollerton 11 years ago it seemed like the heart of the community had been torn away, leaving an empty space behind. But fortunately there was a plan to rejuvenate the area with a brand new development. A large area of 'brownfield' land where the coal mine used to be became the site for a new development - the Sherwood Energy Village. The energy village was part of the government's strategy for 60% of all new developments to be built on brownfield sites. And now it's slowly changing what was a very muddy and polluted landscape into a prosperous new area. Some people feel that developing on previously used sites is a good way to improve conservation efforts. This is because it reduces the pressure to develop on areas of otherwise untouched natural countryside. Brownfield sites can also come up with surprising stories. Inside Out has been to a huge building site on the outskirts of Peterborough. They want to put up hundreds of homes
but nature got in the way. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites | 
Inside Out - East Midlands: Monday October 10, 2005
