There really is no place like home...

KEVIN OSBORNE, Labour councillor for Darfield ward

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the definition of community is ‘a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common’ and ‘the condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common.’

On October 13, 1993 British Coal made its historic announcement relating to the future of deep mined coal output and capacity in Britain.

It stated that ‘in the light of harsh conditions in the electricity market and the urgent need to bring supply and demand back into balance’ 31 collieries would need to close.

Of those, four were seen to have a productive future at a later date and would be mothballed; a further ten were identified as mines with no future under any circumstances and which would be closed immediately; the Southside Complex in Barnsley, which included Houghton Main, was placed in this group.

The closure of Houghton Main and other local collieries has been well documented by others. The long-term impact of the closures on the area they served, supplied their labour and supported them has been forensically examined, and analysed too. The key word throughout that analysis; community.

Earlier this month I attended the David Jones and Joe Green memorial event, hosted by the National Union of Mineworkers at the NUM offices on Huddersfield Road. The event paid tribute to two miners who lost their lives on the picket line during the 1984-85 strike. It was an honour to attend and join those who fought to defend not only their jobs but their community.

After the memorial I was in the audience to hear Coun Mick Stowe offer his insight into the long-term planning by the Conservative party that went into orchestrating not only the origins of the dispute but the co-ordinated response by government agencies against the miners, their families and their communities.

It laid the foundations for what was to come in 1993. The key word throughout Cllr Stowe’s speech; community.

I live in Middlecliffe, within Darfield ward. The vast majority of men from the village worked either directly at Houghton Main or the businesses that served it.

The area I am proud to represent as a councillor has been through enormous changes since 1993.

Jobs may have gone, jobs may have returned, jobs may have changed but in my view our area produced much more than coal. It created a bond, an unspoken thread throughout Middlecliffe and Darfield that still exists today.

Community is the foundation of our society. It is what brings us together, gives us a sense of belonging, and provides us with support and solidarity. The closure of coal mines in our area had a profound impact on the communities that depended on them.

We must never forget the importance of community and the need to protect and support it.

We must stand together and fight for our communities, just as the miners did during the 1984-85 strike.

The winding gear and muck stacks may have gone but one thing remains of that time: community. That’s why I am proud to call Barnsley my home. There’s no place like it.