It's believed the heat available underneath the town is 'the best in the country'
The forgotten mine shafts beneath Oldham could be used to heat new homes in the town centre. The pioneering approach is currently being explored by Oldham council as part of its latest housing strategy, which lays out how it aims to shape the way homes are developed in the borough.
Together with the national Coal Authority, council bosses are investigating using the potential geothermal energy from old mine shafts as a means of heating new builds. It's believed the heat available underneath the town is 'the best in the country'.
A spokesman for Oldham council said: "We're looking to see if the heat can then be extracted using a loop and fed into a new or existing district heating network such as the one already in use in the St Mary's estate."
