WASTE water from abandoned mineworkings could be used to help power a flagship housing development which aims to regenerate the site of a former pit.

Polluted floodwater from old underground seams is currently pumped to the surface and cleaned up at a reed bed treatment complex at the former Bates Colliery in Blyth.

Now the huge quantities of warm water could be further heated and the energy used to help provide electricity for more than 1,000 homes planned to breathe new life into the redundant industrial site.

It is one of a number of green options being explored to help make the housebuilding project an example of national best practice in terms of energy efficiency and eco-friendliness.

Experts are to examine the feasibility of the minewater energy scheme after council bosses approved an ambitious masterplan for the re-development of Bates Colliery – which closed in 1985 and is seen as a key gateway site in the overall regeneration of Blyth. The masterplan envisages the building of up to 1,100 eco-friendly new homes in the area, including the demolition and replacement of almost 300 council properties on the run-down Hodgson’s Road Estate nearby.

Mining and property company The Banks Group is leading the development with initial plans for 173 houses, 24 apartments and 12 small business units on the site.

Yesterday Blyth Valley Council leader Dave Stephens said it was hoped the regeneration would provide a high-quality benchmark for further housing developments along the Blyth Estuary.

He said: “One of the ideas we are looking at is harnessing the waste water which is currently pumped to the surface and treated on the Bates site as an alternative source of energy for the new homes to be built there.

“We believe the water could be put through heat exchangers and the resultant energy used to provide heat and generate electricity for the houses.

“We plan to get Blyth’s renewable energy centre involved in this from the outset to find out whether it is feasible or not.

“We want this development to be highly energy efficient and eco-friendly and believe it could be one of the best examples, not only in the North-East, but the whole country.”

The masterplan also includes a new school, community facilities, play areas and green spaces on the Bates land.

It says more than 1,100 homes could be built if a Port of Blyth fertiliser store was re-located, easing health and safety restrictions.

The vision is to create new homes for both sale and rent, which would be an exemplar project in terms of renewable energy by utilising a biomass system, solar power and other green methods.

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