Bates Colliery

Overview

Blyth’s last working pit and the last deep mine in Northumberland. Owned by the Cowpen Coal Company and then by the National Coal Board, it employed 2,000 men at its height. Its closure in 1986 became a constitutional row: an independent colliery review tribunal, chaired by a QC after days of evidence and cross-examination, recommended the pit stay open at least two years — and on 20 February 1986 the NCB announced it would close it anyway, the first time a tribunal recommendation had been specifically rejected.

History

Bates was worked by the Cowpen Coal Co. Ltd from the 1930s and by the National Coal Board from 1947. It employed 2,000 men at its height, a figure reduced over time to 1,700, then 1,400, and by agreement with the NCB to about 880 by early 1986. The closure was attempted twice. On 7 May 1985 the NCB’s north-eastern area director told NUM officials that the colliery, then said to employ over 1,700 men, was to close immediately — bypassing the existing review procedure, and barely a year after £2 million had been invested in the pit. That announcement was raised in the Commons the next day as a matter of urgent public importance. A new independent colliery review procedure was then agreed. Hearings on Bates began early in January 1986 before Peter Bowsher QC and lasted more than two days, with documents submitted in advance, oral evidence, submissions and cross-examination on both sides. The agreed evidence of the technical expert was that no insuperable technical problems stood in the way of working the pit further, and there were 29 million tonnes of high-quality workable reserves. Bowsher accepted the case of the unions and Blyth Valley council, rejected the NCB’s evidence, and recommended the colliery remain open at least two years. The recommendation was issued on 4 February 1986. On 20 February the NCB said it did not accept it and would close the colliery.

Geology

The Northumberland coalfield at the coast. Some 29 million tonnes of high-quality workable reserves remained unworked at closure.

Workings

No detailed description of the shafts or underground layout has been established from the sources read, which are parliamentary rather than technical.

Closure

Closed in 1986 after the National Coal Board rejected the recommendation of the independent colliery review tribunal — the first occasion on which such a recommendation had been specifically rejected. It was Blyth’s last working pit and the last deep mine in Northumberland, and the town’s unemployment rose steeply afterwards.

What remains

The colliery site at Blyth has been redeveloped; it now carries the Bates Clean Energy Terminal serving the offshore wind industry.

No colliery structure has been identified as surviving.

Redevelopment

The Bates Clean Energy Terminal, supporting the offshore wind industry.

Nearby mines

• Bebside Colliery — 2.5 km W
• Bomarsund Colliery — 4.0 km NW
• Choppington 'B' Pit — 4.3 km NW
• Choppington 'A' Pit — 4.6 km NW
• Seaton Delaval Colliery — 5.3 km S

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Hearings on Bates began early in January 1986 before Peter Bowsher QC and lasted more than two days, with documents submitted in advance and oral evidence, submissions and cross-examination from both sides. Bowsher accepted the case put by the unions and Blyth Valley council, rejected the National Coal Board’s evidence, and recommended the colliery remain open for at least two years. ¹
• The recommendation was issued on 4 February 1986. On 20 February the NCB said that it did not accept the recommendation and would close the colliery — the first occasion on which the recommendation of an independent colliery review tribunal had been specifically rejected by the National Coal Board. ¹
• There were 29 million tonnes of high-quality workable reserves, and the agreed evidence of the technical expert before the tribunal was that there were no insuperable technical problems to be overcome in further working the pit. ^1,2
• The colliery employed 2,000 men at its height, reduced to 1,700, then 1,400, and by agreement with the NCB to about 880 by early 1986. In May 1985 it was described in the Commons as employing over 1,700 men. (disputed) ^1,2
• On 7 May 1985 the NCB’s north-eastern area director informed NUM officials that the colliery was to close immediately, bypassing the existing review procedure, about a year after £2 million had been invested in the pit. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Bates Colliery (House of Commons debate, 7 March 1986) — Hansard, UK Parliament
2. (primary) Bates Colliery (Closure) (House of Commons, 8 May 1985) — Hansard, UK Parliament

Record created: 8 September 2026 · Last researched: 8 September 2026