New Miners Hall project to boost community links
PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS THANKS TO LOTTO FUNDS
A NEW community network will roll out across the former Durham coalfield as part of the £7.25m regeneration programme at The Pitman’s Parliament.
The network aims to revitalise and promote coalfield culture, bringing former mining communities together to take pride in their heritage.
Durham Miners Hall, also known as Redhills, recently secured £4.5m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund toward its restoration and renewal as a centre of culture, heritage and education.
The project includes the addition of new buildings with modern facilities, enabling Redhills to offer a wide-ranging programme of activities and community resources.
And now the Durham Miners’ Association (DMA) is determined that the renewal of its home will benefit former mining communities across the region.
Historically, the DMA had a branch, known as a lodge, in every mining community.
Lodges looked after the welfare of miners and their families in the local area. Delegates from each lodge met in The Pitman’s Parliament at Redhills each month and built a pioneering social system across Durham’s communities before the creation of the national welfare state.
The new network of community lodges will consist of local people and groups who are supported by staff at Redhills to develop cultural activity in their communities. The groups will also be given access to the new facilities and resources at the Miners Hall to ensure its activities best represent and serve its communities.
The network is launching this week with a community survey in the Sherburn area and will be rolled out across the Durham coalfield area as part of The National Lottery Heritage Fundsupported activity plan.
Stephen Guy, Chair of the DMA, said: “More than a generation on from the closure of the last colliery in Durham, the collective values and robust culture of the people of the coalfield live on in vibrant communities.
“Redhills has been at the heart of the life and work of County Durham for more than a century.
“We want to ensure that it is the people who shape the future of Redhills, and that its renewal benefits communities across the Durham coalfield.”
People in Sherburn and surrounding villages are asked to complete a survey, to help the DMA understand the local area, and how it can support the community. It can be taken at redhillsdurham.org