Bickershaw Colliery

Bickershaw Colliery was a coal mine, located on Plank Lane in Leigh, then within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire, England.

[1] This consolidation resulted in a modernisation scheme to open up the Peacock and Plodder mines, and an additional area of Wigan seam.

[2] After the success of this scheme, two similar tunnels were driven 1,500 yards (1,400 m) west from the same point of origin, gaining access to the White and Black seam in the south western field.

The project required the installation of 7 miles (11 km) of conveyor belt underground to consolidate coal extraction to the surface at Bickershaw.

A surface based electronic control system managed the flow from three pits faces, and monitored underground conditions.

[2] Parsonage continued to be used for winding men and materials but from 1 January 1983, the pit became fully integrated with Bickershaw for administration and management.

[2] After the colliery celebrated its centenary in June 1977, with a week of activities and a special open day for visitors, a final development was undertaken.

Filling in No.2 shaft,[1] allowed the opening up retreat faces in the Haigh/Yard Plodder seams, where the coal was over 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick.

However, with targets consistently missed, the 600 miners were balloted on a move to give Bickershaw a stay of execution, against British Coal submitting a report showing the colliery to be unprofitable.

Extensive sidings were developed both onsite and at Kenyon Junction, enabling services to be dispatched to the increasingly important electricity generating station traffic.

Once washed, loaded coal wagons were the marshalled onwards to the exchange sidings with British Railways at Bickershaw and Abram.

As a result, a 2MW wind turbine is being built on the adjacent Wigan Council-owned, Bickershaw North site, to provide energy for the development.

In October 2009, a £12million contract was let to Birse Civils to prepare the site for redevelopment, with outline planning permission for the development of up to 650 homes and 2,750 square metres (29,600 sq ft) of employment space on the 23 hectares (57 acres) site,[13] within a total area redevelopment plan covering some 237 hectares (590 acres).