Village in England
Human settlement in England
Silverdale is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, west of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a self contained ward of Newcastle Borough Council returning 2 Councillors. Historically, the village was dominated by the coal industry and records indicate coal was mined in the area as long ago as the 13th century.[2] The last colliery, Silverdale Colliery, closed in 1998. Brick-maker Ibstock also operate a large clay quarry next to the former colliery. [3]
Silverdale Colliery
The main employer in Silverdale for well over 100 years was Silverdale Colliery, also known locally as Kent's Lane. The first shafts were sunk in the 1830s and the colliery initially mined ironstone as well as coal. The main user of both the minerals was the nearby Silverdale Forge.
The colliery was completely rebuilt during the 1970s when three new drifts were sunk to exploit new reserves in the Keele area. Production increased and the pit mined over one million tonnes annually but was closed in 1998, the last deep mine in North Staffordshire to close.
One of the coal spoil heaps from the Silverdale mine on Hollywood road between Silverdale and Keele caught fire in 1996, 2 years before the site's closure, and continues to burn two decades later. While the fire is primarily underground there have been times when the heat and smoke have made it to the surface setting fire to parts of Holly Wood for which the road is named. Speculation has been raised that attempts to fight the fire or open it up for housing work could result in what is left of the Silverdale coal seam catching fire as well.[4]
Walleys Quarry
Silverdale and surrounding communities have been fighting for action on Walleys Quarry landfill, located at the village's entrance. Walleys, ran by controversial operator Red Industries,[5] has repeatedly broken UN hydrogen sulphide emission levels. Local health workers have well-evidenced residents' widespread physical and psychological distress. The 'terrifying' stink, similar to rotting eggs, can be smelled for miles around.[6] The affected communities have challenged the UK Environment Agency and authorities' inaction legally, protested and blocked the site's entrance. This struggle for environmental justice, in a community scarred by extractivism, continues.[7]
Country park
The Silverdale Country Park, to the west of the village, was created on the former Silverdale Colliery. It was part of a restoration project funded by the Homes and Communities Agency, using money from their National Coalfields Programme. Its area is 83 hectares (210 acres), and it is a park of the Land Trust.[8]
There are two areas. The Waste Farm Plateau, created from colliery spoil, is open grassland on several distinct levels, with extensive views from the highest point. The second areas, the Void, is a steeply sloping bowl, at the base of which is the Southern Pool, where wildfowl can be seen. The Void area was designated a Site of Biological Importance in 2015.[8]
Transport
Silverdale was served by a railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in May, 1863. The station was on the NSR Newcastle to Market Drayton line and was closed in the 1960s. The station buildings remained for a number of years as train crew accommodation for British Rail staff who worked the coal trains to Silverdale Colliery. The rapid loader was located adjacent to the old station.
In 2009 the track was removed between the station and Silverdale tunnel, however the two short station platforms still exist. The line from the entrance to the former site at Pepper Street through the old train station and onto Knutton and Newcastle-under-Lyme has been regenerated into a public access foot and cycle path providing a single, safe, accessible footpath for Newcastle-under-Lyme College for much of its prime catchment area.
