Banks Property develops land in the north of England and Scotland for the building of new homes, and has obtained planning permission for the building of 10,000 new homes. Banks Renewables installs
wind turbines and operates ten onshore wind farms across Northern England and Scotland, with the company's second solar endeavour, Barnsdale Solar near Leeds, receiving planning permission in July 2021. As part of the company's renewables projects, they operate a Community Fund scheme which donates to local community groups and voluntary organisations near their active renewables projects. Banks Mining was a division formerly active in
open-cast or surface coal mining. The division has restored and landscaped every surface mine it has worked on. However, the group ceased surface coal extraction in 2021. In 2012, Banks completed construction of
Northumberlandia, a huge, award-winning, land sculpture in the shape of a reclining female figure near
Cramlington,
Northumberland. Banks Group and the
Blagdon Estate jointly financed the £2.5m cost of the work, as
planning gain for Banks' adjacent open-cast
Shotton Surface Mine, which was approved in 2007. The mine was approved in 2007 despite 2,500 objections and previous refusal by Northumberland County Council. Banks Group won a Marketplace Innovation Award from
Business in the Community for its technologies to reduce noise from mining operations. ==References==