Bold vision unveiled for Chatterley Whitfield

A brownfield site in Stoke-on-Trent is at the heart of a pioneering regeneration plan.

The former Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is set to become the Black to Green Eco Park, a development featuring data centres powered by significant grid capacity and a mine energy heat project using latent geothermal energy.

Owned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the site also includes 12 listed heritage buildings incorporating the original mine workings, headgears and railway sidings.

Plans include a photovoltaic solar farm, a battery storage facility and a combined heat and power plant.

Officials say by recovering low-grade mine heat and excess heat from digital infrastructure, the scheme will also feed a city-wide district heat network.

Unveiled at UKREiiF, in Leeds, they add the project aligns with the city’s wider Silicon Stoke ambitions and will help position the city as a future hub for clean tech and smart infrastructure investment.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “This is how we build a better future for the people of this great city.

“We’re taking a site that powered the past and turning it into something that will power the future. 

“Good-paying jobs, lower energy bills and a cleaner, more sustainable Stoke-on-Trent for generations to come.

“This project is about making life better for people, and we’re not waiting around for someone else to do it. 

“We’re getting on with the job and making sure this city leads the way.”

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