HERITAGE LOTTERY GREEN LIGHT FOR TAMAR VALLEY MINING PROJECT
Wednesday September 27, 2006
THE final piece of the jigsaw is now firmly in place for the Tamar Valley Heritage Mining Project as the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) National Panel has agreed to release the £2.3 million they had previously set aside to support the project.
The news has been welcomed by West Devon Mayor Cllr Ken Williams who said: “This project will transform the Tamar Valley and open up the Heritage Mining sites, recently recognised as part of the World Heritage Site for Cornwall and West Devon Mining, for all to enjoy. “
It’s the culmination of four years of development work by the Tamar Valley AONB Service and its partners. Management of the project will be shared by the AONB and West Devon Borough Council
Tim Selman, of the Tamar Valley Service, said: “ It is so good that the Lottery have given us this endorsement and we can now start the implementation on the ground.
“ The project is a partnership between the funding bodies, local community, landowners, local authorities and ourselves. Together we have developed something which we hope will be of lasting value to the landscape heritage and the people who live and work within it.”
Already, the project is starting to see results. Phase 1, supported through the European Objective Two funds, got underway last month providing improvement works at Morwellham Quay and the start of trails linking Morwellham to the other principle mining sites.
Now, with the HLF approval, the rest of the scheme amounting to a further £4m investment, will see the works extend to additional improvements at Morwellham, including a new Visitor Centre; works to the chimney, condensers, calciners and flue at Devon Great Consols, as well as habitat works: provision of trails and car parks at Bedford and Russell Mines; protection of the chimneys and other mine works at Gawton; new lock gates and improvements to access along the Tavistock Canal and former railway linking Tavistock to the mining areas and new education, training and interpretation facilities throughout the Valley.
Unfortunately the proposals will not now include the Visitor Orientation Centre at Market Road in Tavistock. The full cost of the Tavistock centre exceeded the original project estimates.
However funds are still in place to provide public information, interpretation and signposting to the attractions in the Tamer Valley in Tavistock. The replacement of the public toilets, next to the Guildhall in the town, will now go ahead as a separate scheme by West Devon Borough Council in partnership with Tavistock Town Council.
The major match funders to this £6million scheme are the HLF, European Objective 2, the SWRDA (including Devon Rural Renaissance funds), Devon County Council, the Countryside Agency and West Devon Borough Council.
Explaining the importance of the award, HLF’s South West Regional Manager, Nerys Watts, said: "This project will really open up the hidden industrial heritage of the beautiful Tamar Valley. Our industrial heritage is something we can all take pride in, not only in the South West but across the UK, but is not something that many people associate with Devon.
“ The conservation of important mining structures and the stunning surrounding landscapes, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will help ensure that our children and our children’s children can learn more about the importance of the industrial revolution as well as the impact of 700 years of mining on the Tamar Valley. “
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information about this press release please contact Alison Stoneham, Media Officer at West Devon Borough Council on 01822 813648, email astoneham@westdevon.gov.uk or Charlotte Maunder, Information & Communications Officer for the Tamar Valley AONB on 01579 351163, email cmaunder@tamarvalley.org.uk
