Orgreave, South Yorkshire

Orgreave

The River Rother at Orgreave
Orgreave
 Orgreave shown within South Yorkshire
Population 739 (2011 Census)
OS grid referenceSK425860
Civil parishOrgreave
Metropolitan boroughRotherham
Metropolitan county South Yorkshire
RegionYorkshire and the Humber
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Sheffield
Postcode district S13
Police South Yorkshire
Fire South Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
UK ParliamentRother Valley
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire

Coordinates: 53°22′12″N 1°22′24″W / 53.37012°N 1.37324°W / 53.37012; -1.37324

Orgreave is a village and civil parish on the River Rother in South Yorkshire. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, about 4.5 miles (7 km) east of the centre of Sheffield and a similar distance south of the centre of Rotherham.

The 2011 Census recorded its population as 739.[1] This is a slight decline since the 2001 Census, which recorded its population as 761.[2]

History

Coal and coke

Coal mining in the area began with Dore House Colliery in 1820. The first shaft of Orgreave Colliery was sunk in 1851. In the 20th century the Orgreave Coking Plant was established, and the colliery began to supply the plant. The National Coal Board closed Orgreave Colliery in 1981.

In the 1984–85 Miners' Strike, National Union of Mineworkers members picketed the coking plant to prevent employees and coal from entering or products from leaving. On 18 June 1984, three and a half months into the strike, a large number of South Yorkshire Police officers, including mounted units, were deployed against the pickets. There was large-scale violence between police and pickets, which became known as the Battle of Orgreave.

The coking plant closed in 1991. In 1995 British Coal Opencast was authorised to remove the spoil tip of the former colliery and conduct opencast coal mining on a site totalling 700 acres (280 ha). BCO removed some 12 million tonnes of spoil, extracted coal from it, and also realigned almost 34 mile (1.2 km) of the River Rother. In 2005 BCO completed its work at Orgreave and handed over the land for redevelopment.

Redevelopment

100 acres (40 ha) of the site has been redeveloped as the Advanced Manufacturing Park. In 2008 Harworth Estates submitted a planning application to redevelop 300 acres (120 ha) as the Waverley community, which will include 4,000 homes and some commercial development. 222 acres (90 ha) is being restored as green space including recreation areas, parks, woods, three lakes and a reservoir.

References

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