Camberwell Drive update: 3 September 2025

Completed preparation works

We’d like to thank you for your patience as we’ve started to complete the initial preparation works. As we explained at our last public meeting in March, the ground conditions around the mine shaft have meant we will need to install a platform to be able to complete the drilling and grouting of the mineshaft safely.

Since our last updates in June and July, we have prepared the area around the mine shaft by building a stone base for the drilling platform and removing trees and vegetation in order to allow for a safe working area. We have also moved the welfare cabin in preparation for when we start the main works to the mine shaft. We will use a welfare van, powered by solar energy, until we start the main works.

The utility companies have also completed their works to divert the utilities which have been necessary for us to complete the works to the mine shaft.

We are currently upgrading the temporary car park by tarmacking it and should complete these works by 12 September.

The next phase of preparation works

This week we will start setting up the main site compound in the grassed area behind 95 to 109 Camberwell Drive. For the duration of the works, the welfare and site cabins will be located in this compound and will be accessed via Springwood Way. We have listened to feedback from residents when planning the site and have tried to position this as far away from the houses as we can. We have also had to balance the need for the compound to be close to the main site to enable the grout and water hoses needed to treat the mine shaft to reach the site. We’ve attached a plan showing a location of the compound and the access route. To limit noise from the compound, the silos will operate on small generators, and the welfare cabins will be powered by solar panels.

To ensure the security of the site and the surrounding area, we will have security in place in the form of a guard at the main compound and CCTV cameras close to the mine shaft.

We will also carry out some further light ground investigations to check conditions around the area of the mine shaft to help plan the next stages of the project. There should be minimal noise from these works and we plan to complete them by 15 September.

From 15 September, we will start creating the foundations required for the drilling platform. This will involve driving long columns (or piles) into the ground. We expect to complete this phase by 17 October. We appreciate that these works will cause some noise and disturbance for residents, and we will work to minimise this as much as possible, particularly during the early morning. Our standard working hours will continue to be Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm.

We then plan to construct the platform during the week of 27 October. We will share more about these works in a future update. Once the platform is in place, all the preparation works will be complete to ensure we can begin to safely treat the mine shaft.

Treatment of the mine shaft

We plan to begin the main drilling and grouting of the mine shaft on 3 November and expect to complete these works by 13 March 2026.

Keeping you informed

We will provide a further update by the end of September. We will also hold another public meeting before starting the main treatment works, to share further information about our plans and to give residents an opportunity to ask questions. We will share details of this meeting in our next update.

Key contacts

Please contact us if there is anything you wish to discuss. The reference number for this project is P-041629.

Customer Services Team

If you have any questions about our work please call our customer services team on 0345 762 6848 or 01623 637 000 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm or email us at customerservice@coal.gov.uk.

To report an emergency, please contact: 0800 288 4242 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) For more information about the Mining Remediation Authority, please visit www.gov.uk/mining-remediation-authority.