Councillors in Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire have unanimously voted to replace Brinsley Headstocks in its original form, after the dismantling of the structure last year due to safety concerns prompted a backlash from residents.
The headstocks, the last remaining structure of the type in England, were used to transport men and coal up and down mines in the area from 1872 until the last colliery closed in 1970.
The structure was a distinctive part of the landscape and was also famous for its connection to DH Lawrence, whose father worked in the pit, which he immortalised in his 1913 novel Sons and Lovers.
During a protest at the site in January when all that remained was a pile of wood where the headstocks once stood, residents said their local heritage had been “callously cut down”.
Councillors met on Tuesday to decide whether to build an oak-frame replacement, a steel-frame replacement that would require less maintenance, or create an interactive art piece using original materials from the headstocks.
They voted unanimously for the oak-frame replacement, at an estimated cost of up to £220,000, which would “preserve the original aesthetic of the structure”.
Milan Radulovic, the Labour leader of Broxtowe borough council, said it had long been a “bone of contention” that there was no permanent memorial to mining in the area, and argued it was the council’s duty to rebuild the headstocks in full. “People are saying, ‘does it make financial sense? Could you do it cheaper?’ Yeah, of course we could. The answer is, we’ve got to do it how it was,” he said.
“It’s our responsibility to protect our heritage and our culture, and that’s what we intend to do. We will be replacing the headstocks with a full oak model to demonstrate to future generations the debt of gratitude we owe to the working classes for our prosperity in this country. While parliament may forget it, I certainly won’t, and nor will my colleagues.”
Radulovic said he also wanted to build a “longstanding permanent memorial” to those who had lost their lives in the collieries.
Ken Hamilton, the chair of the Friends of Brinsley Headstocks group, which campaigned for its resurrection, said: “This is what we’ve been pushing for. It’s very good for Brinsley because it’s a landmark there. We wanted it to be the same specification as what was already there. We said, if it’s going to be done, it’s got to be done in wood, as it was. Everyone is so relieved, we got what we wanted.”
A report to the council’s cabinet highlighted that the replacement headstocks would cost about £6,000 a year to maintain, and “due to the inherent nature of wood, concerns regarding its stability and robustness will persist regardless of the amount of maintenance carried out”.
The original headstocks were deemed to be at “imminent risk of collapse” after an inspection by a structural engineer in January 2023. The metal colliery wheels were removed in September and placed into storage, before it was determined that the wooden structure had further deteriorated and posed a risk to public safety, leading it to be completely dismantled.
In a public consultation on the future of the site, 70% of respondents voted for a timber replacement, compared with 12% who chose a steel replacement.
A spokesperson for Broxtowe borough council said: “A project board will be set up and led by the leader of the council, and elected members will now work to deliver the project as soon as possible.”
