Prince of Wales, Pontefract | A Project by Harworth Group plc

Overview & Vision

The Prince of Wales site is a regionally significant scheme that will deliver 917 new homes, in addition to a range of new amenities for the local community.

The former Prince of Wales Colliery was producing 1.5m tonnes of coal per year up until its closure in 2002 and subsequent land sale to Harworth Group. The 77-acre site, adjoining the M62 at Junction 32, is now being regenerated in to a residential-led scheme with a range of benefits for local people.

In December 2013, we received planning consent from Wakefield Council to turn the former pit yard into a new development comprising 917 homes and over 200,000 sq ft of employment development, alongside a range of retail units, cafes, a medical centre, community centre, nursery and parkland.

In 2018, due to the lack of demand for employment and retail on this site, planning permission was granted for further housing to replace the consented employment space and it is now part of our vision in bringing forward the neighbouring Monkhill Triangle site to include a local centre with medical and retail facilities in that location.

Development Progress

Remediation of the site began in December 2013 with Phase 1 infrastructure work completing at the end of December 2014. This was supported by a £1.95m Growing Places Fund loan from Leeds City Region to speed up the work.

Avant Homes (formerly known as Ben Bailey Homes) were selected as the first housebuilder for the scheme in January 2015, building 131 homes. This was closely followed by Harron Homes purchasing a parcel of land to build 95 homes before purchasing a second parcel in 2016 to build a further 89 homes. In Q3 2018, Avant Homes also returned to the site with the purchase of their second parcel to build 83 two-, three- and four- bedroom homes.

The former spoil heap next to the pit yard has also been transformed and will become a new country park, providing a new public open space for the community. Alongside nearby Pontefract Park and Pontefract Racecourse, this will provide an extremely attractive gateway into Pontefract. The site also provides the engineered road corridor for the Northern link road – a central piece of infrastructure for the future growth of Pontefract which was completed in February 2015.