A PLAN to turn a former mine into a new school to equip ex-miners with new skills for work on the railway has been blasted by councillors.

The Jarvis Rail plan to launch a retraining school for 150 redundant miners has been attacked by parish councillors in the area.

They claim the company is riding roughshod over planning regulations by developing the centre in the green belt area at Deighton, between York and Selby, and say they fear that the resulting additional traffic could cause damage.

Parish councillor Maurice Vassie said: "They are trying to do it all in a very underhand way, trying to set up the scheme without proper permission and then presenting it as a fait accompli.

"Once it is there, they won't be able to do anything about it. And they don't give a damn who they hurt on the way."

Councillor David Ashton, county councillor for Escrick, said: "All the local people in the area totally oppose the further industrial use of the land.

"We were promised this site would be returned to agricultural use as soon as mining was finished. It is a 65-acre site in otherwise unspoilt land, and as far as we are concerned, it must be returned to us."

The site at North Selby Colliery, part of the Selby coalfield, is about a mile from the A19, within the Deighton parish boundary.

It was last month declared unfit for major development in the City of York Council Local Plan, outlining use of all land in the region, and lies in the green belt area of the city.

But although the plan bans more development, council officials say existing buildings can be used.

This is the route Jarvis plans to take, using administrative buildings with additional technological developments to cater for the students' needs.

The buildings will still belong to UK Coal, but will be used as a training centre for two years for the redundant miners.

Jarvis spokesman John Smiles said: "We are surprised, and quite disappointed, with this response by local people.

"We are embarking on this to try and provide 150 more jobs in an area decimated by the pit closures, and we think the community will be better protected by providing these new jobs."

Updated: 10:30 Wednesday, March 19, 2003