Work set to begin on valley heritage centre
WORK has started on a new heritage centre which will be at the heart of a project to celebrate a valley’s natural and historical strengths.
The £1.5m Crowley’s Heritage Centre at Winlaton Mill in Gateshead could bring more than £500,000 into the local economy annually.
The centre, which is expected to open next year, is a key part of the Land of Oak & Iron project hosted by Groundwork NE & Cumbria, which explores and highlights the industrial, cultural and natural heritage of the Derwent Valley through County Durham, Gateshead and surrounding area.
The charity will run the centre as a social enterprise, reinvesting profits back into its local activities.
The centre will offer a range of exhibitions and interactive sessions, a café and gift shop, alongside a business incubator space, providing local people with long-term employment opportunities and offering an outlet for regional food producers and busi- nesses. In addition to investment from Groundwork and its partner Gateshead Council, much of the financial backing has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Further funding from the Rural Growth Network programme Strategic Economic Infrastructure Fund and other organisations have helped the centre project reach its target. Esh Group and Dyer Engineering are providing plant hire and labour at cost price, while David Marrs, a retired local authority chief executive with a passion for history, is project managing the construction and giving his time voluntarily. The design of the centre was selected in consultation with the local community, with hundreds of people choosing Northumbria University architecture student Matthew Glover’s waterwheel-inspired design concept. It draws on pioneering industrial efforts of the centre’s namesake, Sir Ambrose Crowley, who established a revolutionary water-powered iron works near the site of the new centre in the late 17th century.
Kate Culverhouse, chief executive at Groundwork NE & Cumbria, said: “It is fantastic to finally break ground at Crowley’s Heritage Centre. It has been a long time in the making, with many parties involved in supporting us to achieve our ambition.
John Rundle, chairman of the Land of Oak & Iron board, said: “It is important that Land of Oak & Iron creates long-term benefits for the area, which we are already doing by giving access and opportunity to experience the heritage, history, heroes and habitats of our area.”
John McElroy, Gateshead Council cabinet member for environment and transport, and Land of Oak & Iron board member, added: “This is a landmark day for this project, which, once completed, will be a great new attraction.”