Redevelopment plans for old club site approved

Plans have been approved for the first stage of redeveloping the site of a town's former social club.

Council planners have given the go-ahead for a sports pavilion, parkland and a car park on the site of the Kellingley Club in Knottingley, which was recently demolished to make way for new community facilities.

Proposals for the new pavilion include a bar, function room, changing rooms and spectator facilities.

A Wakefield Council planning officer's report said: "It is considered that the development would provide a beneficial facility for local residents in an accessible and sustainable location."

The £6.3m project is part of the Knottingley and Ferrybridge masterplan, which sets out the approach to regenerate the area over the next 15 to 20 years.

The scheme for the former Kellingley Club site is the first phase of a major revamp of the area.

Other future proposals include a building a well-being hub, providing more play areas and upgrading sports pitches.

The club had close links with the former Kellingley Colliery, affectionately known as "Big K", which opened in the 1960s and was the last active deep coal mine in the UK when it closed in 2015.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a heritage report accompanying the application stated: "The social club and football club were a key component of the colliery's community during the period of operation.

"The Kellingley Welfare Football Club was founded in 1965, and the Kellingley Colliery was opened the following year.

"About 2,000 miners were employed there at any one time and utilised the clubs outside of work."

Demolition work at the site started last autumn.

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