UP TO 45 new jobs could be created at the site of a former colliery near Selby after plans for a tyre recycling centre were given the go-ahead.

The proposals to convert the Gascoigne Wood Mine, in Lennerton Lane, Sherburn-in-Elmet, were submitted to Selby District Council in June by Newgen Recycling Ltd.

The site, which closed in August 2004, contains two large buildings, which will be used as a dropping-off point for scrap tyres and other rubber products, which would be stored and sorted at the facility before being shredded and granulated.

Since the colliery closed, the buildings have been used for electricity generation by British Gypsum, and were touted as potential locations for an environmentally friendly eco-town, or a new base for technology giants Hitachi.

In documents submitted to the council, agents acting for Newgen said the scheme would not harm the surrounding countryside or wildlife and no piles of tyres would be more than three metres tall, and so they will be hidden from view outside the site.

“The development will add to the diversity of local employment opportunities which, because of the nature of the proposed use, could not be created in any other location relative to Sherburn-in-Elmet,” said G R Planning and Architectural Design Ltd in a statement which formed part of the application.

“The recycling of tyres is a sustainable operation which transforms a waste product into a usable commodity. It provides a solution to the increasing problem of tyre disposal and, it can be argued, makes a positive contribution to the environment.”

Newgen was told this week that the plans to change the use of the site had been granted by the council, providing development starts within three years and other environmental factors were taken into consideration, including potential disruption to local wildlife, drainage systems for surface and foul water, and proximity of tall machinery to nearby railway tracks.

Scrap steel would also be removed from tyres and baled at the centre, with the rubber resold as granules for surfacing products at equestrian events.