Plans in for Gascoigne Wood transformation that could bring 2000 jobs to Selby

Land regeneration and property investment business Harworth Group plc has submitted an outline planning application for the transformation of its Gascoigne Wood site in North Yorkshire.

The Rotherham-headquartered company is looking to turn the former colliery in Sherburn-in-Elmet into a rail-connected hub with around 2,000,000 sq ft of employment space.

If approved by Selby District Council, the scheme could create up to 2,000 jobs.

The 276-acre site, located at the heart of the Selby coalfield complex, comprises the 124-acre Sherburn Rail Freight Terminal and agricultural land to the north.

Current occupants of the terminal include construction materials supplier Siniat and manufacturer British Gypsum.

The site’s rail connection is able to receive trains up to 450m long, linking businesses based there to industrial and distribution centres throughout the UK.

Harworth’s outline planning application proposes up to 2,000,000 sq ft of general industry, storage and distribution space for a range of occupants.

Selby District Council has already identified Gascoigne Wood as one of five key sites, within its Economic Growth Framework, that could deliver higher value employment uses across the district.

Harworth’s director of strategic land, Tim Love, 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.”

Selby District Council Leader Cllr Mark Crane commented: “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.”

He continued: “We benefit from being right at the heart of Yorkshire, and we’re the fastest-growing part of North Yorkshire – it’s really important that the council can build on this to make the most of these new opportunities for people living and working in the area.”

Speaking further, Cllr Crane said the application will “obviously […] have to go through a full planning process”, adding: “We’ve been working proactively with the developers to shape their investment proposals to bring the biggest benefits to our communities, but this now needs to go through a planning process.”

The application was submitted by planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore.