This is how a former Doncaster pit village could be transformed with new motorway link road, pit visitor centre, station scheme and community hub

That is because at the end of December, the multimillion pound road which links Stainforth to the M18 was completed.

if you were travelling on the M18, you may not have seen it. There is nothing yet written on the towering blue motorway sign at junction five to signpost the new road.

Unless you knew to follow the sign to the services and the M180, you could drive past it.

Similarly, unless you knew it was there, you wouldn’t find it from Stainforth yet, even though it goes most of the way to East Lane, running close to the old Hatfield Colliery site at Waggons Way. No sign to the motorway has been put up yet in the village.

But locals are not worried about that, and say it is early days.

They see the opening of the new road, called Unity Way, as a major boost for a village that missed out on much of the coalfield regeneration money in the 90s because they still had a mine in the village at that point, although those working there came from outside Stainforth.

There is more to be hopeful about on the horizon. The village is also in the process of applying for the Government’s multimillion pound Town Deals Fund.

Meetings involving Stainforth Town Council, businesses and community organisations have been held since March to put together a package that will be submitted to the Government at the end of this month that would propose transforming the iconic winding towers on the former Hatfield Colliery site into a business park and a country park.

They have also worked with former miners from the Hatfield Main Heritage trust on the plan.

The bid also includes proposals to create a bridge to make the Hatfield and Stainforth Railway station more accessible from the village.

Stainforth Town Council’s Mayor, George Derx, is delighted to see the road in place, and views it as a game changer.

He said: “It’s very important to Stainforth, to the community. We’ve been wanting one for over 40 years.

"It opens up Stainforth to the outside world. It gives better transport links, it gives people a better chance to access other parts of the country, and other parts of the country better access to Stainforth.

"To me it’s a game changer – it’s going to create jobs. It’s going to bring jobs into the community.”

His enthusiasm is shared by Phill Bedford, who runs the community organisation Stainforth4All, based at Stainforth Library.

He feels Stainforth has been left behind for too long compared to other former Doncaster pit villages, like Armthorpe and Thorne.

He believes the new road will open up the land around it for development. Junctions off the road have already been built, allowing for future development along its route.

"This close to the M18, big business will be interested,” he said.

Both Mr Derx and Mr Bedford have been involved in Stainforth’s towns board, the group setting up the bid for Government towns fund money, and feel that combined with the road, it could transform the village.

It includes plans to use the former colliery site, a landmark to cars travelling along the M18 with its twin winding towers, as an asset. The mine closed in 2015.

The towers now have listed status, so cannot be demolished. The plan is to use them as an attraction for the area.

There would be a visitor centre on the site, explaining the mining history behind it. Where the spoil heap once lay, a country park is proposed.

Those behind the plans hope it will attract people from far afield.

"It would be a landmark for this side of Doncaster,” said Mr Derx. "The west of the borough has Conisbrough Castle, This side will have the former colliery site."

There are hopes that the country park could be used for events such as outdoor cinema.

Another key part of the proposals are the plans for the station. At present, to access the station from Stainforth, travellers face a 15 minute walk to get to the entrance, because of the railway tracks which run between Stainforth of Dunscroft.

The funding bid includes a footbridge to span those tracks and remove the need for a long diversion.

It also includes parking and a bus interchange – all close to the former pit site.

Mr Bedford said there were successful businesses in Stainforth, like the computer software firm Roeville. He said it was hoped that the improved transport would help organisations such as them, when they had to bring people in from other parts of the country to train them on their products.

"For too long there’s been a brain drain out of Stainforth,” he said. “People have had their education and left. We want this to be a place people want to stay, a place people want to come and invest.”

Also included in the bid are plans for a new community hub, built around the miners welfare. It would include a youth club, with the plan being to finance that through Stainforth town council and Stainforth4All, as well as new playgrounds.

Stuart Bolton, another member of the Stainforth4All team and the town council, feels it is finally Stainforth's turn for redevelopment.

"Stainforth had a pit that stayed open longer than places like Thorne, Armthorpe, and even Rossington,” he said. “Because it was still open, this village was never eligible for the previous coalfield regeneration projects, like the pits that closed over 20 years ago. Now it's Stainforth’s chance.”

The Government is expected to make a decision on the towns fund bid in March.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.