A North Staffordshire waste tip packed with nearly half a million rubber tyres is being cleaned up in a massive land reclamation project which will eventually create 900 jobs.

The scheme involves regeneration agencies Advantage West Midlands and English Partnerships.

Designed to breathe new life into former coalfield communities, the £10 million redevelopment at the former Sideway Colliery, in Stoke- on- Trent, is being financed by English Partnerships' National Coalfields Programme and has the potential to create more than 900 jobs by 2010.

Work at the 64-acre site, owned by Advantage West Midlands, includes the removal of 22,000 cubic metres of tyres dumped in an unlicensed waste tip dating back 50 years, and the construction of an access road, drainage and utility infrastructure.

Situated close to the A500 and near to Junction 15 of the M6, Sideway has been identified as a prime location for large industrial/distribution uses with the capacity to accommodate one large commercial building of up to 500,000 sq ft.

Neil Mortimer, head of coalfields for English Partnerships, said: "The main regeneration priority for this area is to provide employment opportunities and Sideway Colliery has an important role to play to achieve this aim.

"This funding will enable a large contaminated brownfield site to be remediated and brought forward for development.

"This will lead to the creation of a significant number of jobs in an area where employment deprivation is high, and help to lever in private investment."

Steve Holland, head of asset management at Advantage West Midlands, added: " Sideway will be a first class addition to the region's portfolio of high quality sites developed by the agency, with the construction of modern and most environmentally efficient buildings in the region.

"One of the agency's key roles is to create a diverse and dynamic business base and Sideway will bring valuable new investment and new, skilled jobs close to communities in greatest need."

Mark Meredith, the Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, also said: "The remediation and development of Sideway Colliery will contribute significantly to the provision of high quality available land, making more choice available to the market. This is a large site with unrivalled access to the M6 and M1."

Specialist contractor C A Blackwells has timetabled lorries to make up to 70 trips a day to dispose of the shredded tyre waste at an approved landfill site in Staffordshire.

The overall project is being managed by the Mouchel Parkman professional services group.