Student survey helps ex-mine become nature reserve

A former colliery site, where college students found "a rich mosaic of habitats", will become a nature reserve.

Durham County Council agreed to delegate powers to Shincliffe Parish Council to create the reserve at Shincliffe Pit Heaps.

The mine closed in 1886 and in 2025 Darlington College students found the site had turned into a "biodiverse green space" with a range of wildlife, including songbirds, wildflowers and the increasingly rare Dingy Skipper butterfly.

Chair of Shincliffe Parish Council Stephen Ashfield, who was also the students' science lecturer, said the approval was a "major step forward".

"For me, this has been particularly rewarding because the project started with work carried out by my BTEC applied science students, who surveyed the former colliery site and looked at its biodiversity and ecological value," he said.

"It has been fantastic to see that work develop into something with a real and lasting benefit for the community.

"The site is an important part of Shincliffe's mining heritage, but it is also a wonderful example of nature reclaiming former industrial land."

Daniel Sowerby, 18, said taking part in the survey had been "great".

"I think it could really amaze people who aren't necessarily into science and show them just how vast the natural world is."

Shincliffe Pit Heaps has already been designated as a Local Wildlife Site (LWS) in recognition of its wildlife.

Although the parish owns the site, only a council can provide nature reserves on land in their area, which led to the request to Durham County Council to delegate these powers.

Shincliffe Parish Council will now be responsible for all subsequent consultation, costs and management of the site.

Natural England has supported turning the former colliery into a nature reserve.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen on BBC Sounds.