A SELBY councillor has branded UK Coal's claim that it wants to develop former mining sites to benefit local communities "a load of rubbish".

Coun Liz Casling, the district and county councillor for Riccall and Escrick, said residents wanted the sites, at Riccall, Stillingfleet and Wistow, to be returned to their former agricultural use.

Last week The Press reported that UK Coal had withdrawn appeals to remove planning restrictions on the Stillingfleet and Wistow mine sites, which meant they must be returned to agricultural use once coal extraction was finished.

A spokesman for the company said it was now in discussions with Selby District Council to consider options for the sites while they remain unoccupied.

An appeal to lift the restrictions for the former Riccall mine will begin on May 9.

Coun Casling said: "UK Coal's plans have absolutely no support from the local community for any sort of redevelopment.

"There have been massive public meetings in the past against any form of redevelopment.

"From my point of view, all they're trying to do is renege on planning permission conditions - a deal they made with the local community more than 25 years ago - to increase their profits.

"Local people want these sites to return to agricultural use."

The UK Coal spokesman said: "We'd like to look at the options that emerge before people make potentially ill-informed decisions.

"There's no denying these conditions were put on the original planning consent. But the sites have moved on since then, and the conditions are no longer necessarily relevant today."