Plans submitted for new rail connected hub

Formerly the Gascoigne Wood Colliery, the 276-acre site includes the existing 124-acre Sherburn Rail Freight Terminal, which is home to occupiers including Siniat and British Gypsum, alongside agricultural land to the north.

The whole site benefits from an existing rail connection that can accept trains of up to 450m in length and is W10 gauge ready to link to industrial and distribution centres throughout the UK, as well as being close to both the A1(M) and the M62.

Harworth's application uses the existing rail connection as the site's central asset and proposes up to two million sq ft of industry and storage and distribution space, ready for a range of rail-connected uses that could support up to 2,000 new jobs.

Harworth said it had undertaken significant due diligence prior to the submission of the application, including detailed planning work on issues including highways and access, topography and drainage, ecology and coal legacy.

Tim Love, director of strategic land at Harworth, said: ""The site represents a great opportunity for Selby to leverage its unique locational advantages to create thousands of new rail-connected jobs.

""We have spent a number of months working closely with Selby District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, technical advisors and key commercial agents to formulate a realistic plan to fully account for the constraints and opportunities the site offers, and we look forward to the application being considered as soon as possible.""

Cllr Mark Crane, the leader of Selby District Council, added: ""Gascoigne has the potential to be a really significant new investment site for the whole of Yorkshire � as it's a major site with direct rail connections and easy road access too.

""This is one of five large developments planned for our area which we've been supporting because of their potential to deliver significant new job opportunities and business investment.""