A FORMER colliery near Selby could be converted to a tyre recycling centre, leading to the creation of 45 jobs.

An application has been submitted to Selby District Council by Newgen Recycling Ltd, to build the new facility on the site of the Gascoigne Wood Mine, in Lennerton Lane, Sherburn-in-Elmet.

Under the submitted plan, two buildings on the site of the former mine, which shut down in August 2004, would be a dropping-off point for scrap tyres and other rubber products, which would be stored and sorted at the facility before being shredded and granulated.

A report submitted with the application said: “The use will offer a three-shift system with each shift employing in the region of 15 employees.

“From a sustainability point of view, because of the nature of the jobs that will be created, it is expected that all employees are likely to be drawn from the immediate locality.”

If successful, developers would encourage car sharing between employees, and set up a shuttle-bus service for employees, and it was suggested in the report most would be able to walk or cycle to work.

Three years ago, the former mine site was one of several in the Selby area suggested as a potential location for an environmentally-friendly eco-town, and rumours about a move by technology giants Hitachi to the site came to nothing. More recently, buildings on the site have been used by British Gypsum, and for electricity generation.

As well as shredding and granulation work, scrap steel would be removed from tyres and baled at the facility, with the rubber sold as granules for use in surfacing products at equestrian events.