A DECISION on the next stages of a former coking plant’s regeneration is due to be decided in early 2018.
Hargreaves, which owns Monckton in Royston, spent more than £1m this year on remedial works at the site which closed three years ago, resulting in the loss of 100 jobs.
However, more than 60 of its employees now occupy the site after public consultations showed a demand for workers to return to Monckton.
The remainder of the site could be divided up for housing, with up to 250 homes still in the pipeline, business units and an innovative power plant which is currently being considered by Barnsley Council’s planning board, which has issued a target decision date for next month.
Iain Slater, development and estates director at Hargreaves, said: “The most common feedback we received was the wish to keep some sort of employment space at the site.
“The plant office has been completely refurbished and now houses around 65 employees from our industrial services and coal production divisions, who were based at two separate offices before (in Dodworth and Glasshoughton).
“It made sense to bring those departments together and have them at one hub, so Monckton is now functioning as a base for them. It’s better for us business-wise as it improves functionality and reduces our expenditure on rent at the previous two locations.”
The plant, which would be in operation for a 20-year period, could produce up to ten megawatts of electricity during periods of peak demand via five, two-megawatt generators if approval is given by councillors.
However, although Hargreaves has moved dozens of its staff to Monckton, the firm told the Chronicle that they remain committed to furthering the site’s attractiveness to would-be employers setting up in the village.
“We continue to tidy up the rest of the site and further demolition works will take place to reclaim the site after years of coke production,” Mr Slater added. “The plan to allocate some of the site for housing remains, but we also want to utilise the remaining part to try and attract employers.”
A review on the plant’s closure was announced in September 2014 and it closed in December due to Hargreaves being unable to secure more long-term contracts to make the plant more financially viable.
People in Royston had mixed feelings. There is plenty of concern and sympathy for those who lost their jobs.
But the plant had been seen by some - especially those living nearby or downwind of it - as a relic of an old-fashioned dirty industry.
More than 100 families began legal action after being blighted by dust and odour problems.
They said they were unable to open their doors and windows and enjoy their gardens.
It had been a complaint for years, and in 2010 the owners agreed to spend £2.7m on environmental improvements.
