Huge cash windfall for North Warwickshire country park

Hundreds of thousands of pounds are to be pumped into Pooley Country Park and Heritage Centre in North Warwickshire.

The park on the site of a former colliery near Polesworth has discovered it has been selected for inclusion in the National Coalfields Program, managed by the Government’s regeneration agency, English Partnerships.

It is one of just six projects in the country to have been singled out for funding from the final round of the National Coalfields Program, which is likely to means several hundred thousand pounds spent on projects.

British Coal handed over the former Pooley Hall colliery site to Warwickshire County Council in 1999, having lay dormant since mining ceased in the 1960s.

The County Council opened a visitor centre and mining heritage collection in 2002, with new canal moorings and a high quality play area added last year.

Stuart Ikeringill, Countryside Recreation Manager at Warwickshire County Council, said:

This is fantastic news for Pooley. Visitor numbers have doubled in the last two years and this is a trend we want to see continue. The funding from English Partnerships will help us develop the site and facilities and put the park on a sustainable footing for future generations to enjoy.

In 2004 13,000 people visited Pooley, while last year saw the number increase to 26,000 visitors.

Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said:

We are looking forward to working with English Partnerships and our community partners to deliver a project that really puts Pooley on the map. Our country parks are an important gateway to the wider countryside and North Warwickshire has so much to offer both local people and visitors.

Local County Councillor, Mick Stanley, said:

Pooley is increasingly valued by visitors, but there remains much to be done to enhance the site. The partnership board for the project has agreed some themes with English Partnerships. We will be working on regeneration of the spoil heap, developing an arts strategy and gateway features for the park, expanding resources for education including; heritage, environmental and outdoor education, and exploring options for commercial recreation uses.

The announcement names the sites as Durastic, South Tyneside; Felling Pit, Gateshead; Gedling Colliery Tip, Nottinghamshire; Hindley Green, Wigan; Hutchins, Deal in Kent and Pooley in Warwickshire.

he funding will help turn around the fortunes of each area by kick-starting a mixed programme of site clean ups, creation of new homes, job opportunities and public open space.

Neil Mortimer, English Partnerships Head of Coalfields, said: “This funding is really just the start, it is simply the key that will unlock the massive potential contained within these sites. Our ten-year programme has already seen £665 million of private sector investment pouring into the coalfield communities, outstripping public money by a ratio of almost 2:1.

With the help of our partners, this is a feat we hope to repeat across these new sites, improving the quality of the landscape and the opportunities available to local people in terms of new homes, jobs and leisure.