Enterprising Britain 2005 Winner
Chancellor Gordon Brown announced Sherwood Energy Village as the winner of Enterprising Britain 2005 in February this year, recognising the determination, tenacity and drive that has turned the site of a former colliery into one of Britain’s leading sustainable communities.
When the mining town of Ollerton in Nottinghamshire learned that the pit was going to close in 1994, many felt that it could be the beginning of the end, bringing large-scale redundancy and little prospect for future growth in an isolated area that relied on coal for its prosperity and community.
Instead, the community joined together with the intention of rebuilding and diversifying the economic base of the town so that it would never again be subject to widespread job losses.
The vision was to create a mixed-use development on the 91-acre former colliery that would complement and enhance the existing town, a core principle being that of economic and environmental sustainability.
A not-for-profit social enterprise was formed before purchasing the colliery site from British Coal and setting about transforming the pit into a sustainable development comprising of industrial, commercial, residential and leisure facilities.
The SEV organisation developed the concept of holistic sustainable development for the site, ensuring that buildings are designed and constructed to high levels of energy efficiency.
Now home to the headquarters of Center Parcs, who re-located to Sherwood Energy Village based on SEV’s environmental stance, the village also boasts the UK’s largest application of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in the UK. A 186-house residential zone is to be built from November 2005 and the village is on course to create 1,500 jobs as soon as 2008, compared to 1000 jobs in the mining industry’s heyday.
The dedicated community of Ollerton behind the success of Sherwood Energy Village has not only changed the physical landscape for the better, but also created jobs for local people and diversified the economic base of the town so that it will never face the crisis of 1994 again.
Stan Crawford, managing director at Sherwood Energy Village sums it up best:
'Regeneration is about playing the long game. The enterprise, although starting as an immediate response to pit closure, has transformed a former colliery into one of the most enterprising places in the UK. The Enterprising Britain award has recognised the dedication of everyone who has been involved in Sherwood Energy Village and showed that sustainable development can be achieved through determination, imagination and tenacity.'