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Report - - Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - 8/10/08 | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - 8/10/08

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xm657

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Back in April this year I explored the Wistow Mine one of the Selby pits that were closed in 2002. To be honest the visit to Selby was quite a thought provoking experience for me, I hadn't appreciated quite the scale of the waste that Selby represented. Normally exploring you see sites that are very derelict and have clearly a long history. Selby complex is just so new - too new - to have been abandonded. Yet the pits are capped and the massive tunnel complex and equipment lost underground forever. Most of the Coal remains underground as UK Coal only extracted the easy stuff.

I needed to see more, so decided to have a look at Stillingfleet which I noticed on the return trip from Wistow in April.

Stillingfleet closed at about the same time in 2002, but is almost completely intact unlike Wistow which has had more demolition take place. Furthermore UK Coal is still active at this site, so I'm putting this in the Private section, just in case it spoils future visits. Its is so unvandalised that there surely must be on site security, particularly as there's working machinery on site. Maybe I hit lucky between security rounds, but I was unchallenged despite walking round in broad daylight.

Today Stillingfleet is still used to extract Methane Gas from the Selby complex for electricity generation, there is a constant noise on site from machinery. But its a total GHOST TOWN. Dweeb explored Ricall in 2006 and reported the lights in the car park were left permanently on, day and night the lights are left on here too, the only ones off are where the bulb has finally popped after 6 years. Who is paying the elecy bills!

I didn't enter through the front gate, but found my own way in. The overgrown car park and bushes reminded me of shots from Pripyat. But the weird thing was most of the flood lights were on!

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Here is an old photo of the site showing the enclosed head gear which is now removed - it was the only structure apart from the chimneys visible from outside

Here are the chimneys today
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But the headstock is now just a cap
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Because the site is still active the vast majority of the buildings are locked up tight, at a guess though I would say the equipment inside remains as it was. I did manage to get into the boiler room. Everything was as it was, tools, safety posters etc.

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The gym was also accessible though completely empty. I could only guess why a gym was needed, surely after a hard physical job of mining, weight training in the gym was overkill, but maybe it was for the office staff.

Like Wistow there was an excess of signs giving patronising advise, the gym was plastered with them, dont put you feet on the wall, tidy up etc.

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Clearly someone tidied up too well as all the equipment was now gone, probably nicked through the broken window I used to get in.

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Some more ghost town shots
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All the doors were locked, but peering through the windows desks were piled up with papers and files and many of the lights were left on. It was clear from the cobwebs though nobody ever goes in, odd.
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:eek: Notice the dome CCTV on the left. There were a few watching me and they looked in good condition. Nobody ever came though, so maybe the monitors are unattended.
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Unfortunately my camera batteries died before I could photo any more buildings, I'll return though. Here's a final shot of the chimneys that I liked.

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I

industry

Guest
Guest
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Mate, that looks brilliant, I wonder what's going on there apart from the methane extraction...
 

xm657

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Mate, that looks brilliant, I wonder what's going on there apart from the methane extraction...

Not a lot at the moment. Dweeb reckoned that the NCB were meant to return the sites to agriculture after the mines finished which surely would obligate UK Coal to do the same, yet nothing has been done apart from capping after 6 years.

My guess is they are holding tight to try and get the council to agree to them being sold for industrial units as has happened at the old North Selby mine. They'd rather make a few quid from selling the place intact than have to spend money clearing it up.
 

Northern Exposure

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Nice report and a very interesting site. Wouldn't mind a trip down that way to take a look.

My guess is they are holding tight to try and get the council to agree to them being sold for industrial units as has happened at the old North Selby mine. They'd rather make a few quid from selling the place intact than have to spend money clearing it up

I've a good idea what sort of industry might be going in on this site (or indeed others in the area) Lets just say with a recent change in the law, the remediation of these sites is peanuts compared to the long term earnings and Gov't grants.
 

Brick_Man

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

I've a good idea what sort of industry might be going in on this site (or indeed others in the area) Lets just say with a recent change in the law, the remediation of these sites is peanuts compared to the long term earnings and Gov't grants.

waste incinerator/bio-fuel burning jobby?

underground waste dump? Both would be ideal on a site like that.

as for stuff still being on, security are often paid to guard a site, not turn it off, ah la pyestock, inverkip, rover, corus etc...
 

Dempsey

The Human Turbine.
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Something on my list at the moment are these mines.

Now, I know there was a really Retro looking one of these in the Selby complex, i say retro because the staithes/shoots used to fill the railway hoppers had a cool look to them. I cant remember the name of the mine, and im curious if its being demolished totally. Any help?
 

dweeb

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Yeah it was gascoigne wood which was the prep plant for all 5 selby mines. It has since been demolished. It was the first coal site I ever explored.

Selby mines are cool and eerie places. Much bitterness about there past is still strongly felt by former colliers.

Stillingfleet is the headquarters for security of all the mines, so my guess is you got lucky and turned up when he was at one of the other mines.
 

Dempsey

The Human Turbine.
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Got any pictures dweeb? gutting.
 
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xm657

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Stillingfleet is the headquarters for security of all the mines, so my guess is you got lucky and turned up when he was at one of the other mines.

It felt really weird, so I think your right, I was expecting someone angry to intercept me any minute, but noone came. Just a pity my batteries went I'd of got some more pics.
 

xm657

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

Something on my list at the moment are these mines.

Now, I know there was a really Retro looking one of these in the Selby complex, i say retro because the staithes/shoots used to fill the railway hoppers had a cool look to them. I cant remember the name of the mine, and im curious if its being demolished totally. Any help?

Selby are like industrial estates that had a pit hidden in a big brick building, not like any other colliery before they are interesting though obviously nothing like as awesome as places like Clipstone, Annesley and the rest.

Gascoigne was the big site though where all the coal came out, the other mines like Stillingfleet were access points to the complex of coalfaces.
 

Saxofilis

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Re: Stillingfleet Mine - Selby Pit Complex - REPORT - 8/10/08

I'm regular round that area and the local pub has cask ale for £1.38.

Pay homage to Sam Smith's Shire Horses.
 
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