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Plea to make sure bell pit site remains:

http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/03/06/conservation-status-may-halt-wind-farm-plans-61634-25973216/ - re Bolam

http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/03/04/plea-to-make-sure-bell-pit-site-remains-61634-25958576/ = re Bradley

AN historian is fighting to preserve an historic monument to the region’s industrial heritage.

David Marrs fears plans to excavate more than half a million tons of coal from land at Bradley between Leadgate and Dipton in north west Durham will mean the loss of the site of historic bell pits.

A bell pit was a primitive method of mining coal where the coal lies near the surface on flat land. A shaft is sunk to reach the coal which is then excavated by miners transported in by means of a winch and removed by means of a bucket (much like a well). It gets its name because in cross section it resembles a bell.

Typically, no supports are used and mining continues outward until the mine becomes too dangerous (or collapses) at which point another mine is started, often in close proximity.

This type of mine was in frequent use starting as early as the 14th Century and a few continued in use until after World War One in the region around Ford, Northumberland. Bell pits often flooded due to a lack of a drainage system. This, plus the lack of supports and the likelihood for collapse, means remains of bell pits are hard to identify nowadays.

But Mr Marrs, 52, of Granville Terrace, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham, former chief executive of the now defunct Durham City Council, explained: “On this site at Bradley there is a wonderful pepperpot of bell pits dating back to the 18th Century and possibly even earlier.

“They are a fantastic educational tool and it would be a crime if they were to disappear.

“I have taken hundreds of people on guided walks to look at them, I believe they should be a listed monument and a must for schoolchildren to visit. But UK Coal don’t seem to care. They just want to flatten the entire area.”

UK Coal has already successfully applied for planning permission to create three habitat ponds for great crested newts next to the proposed site.

The company, which plans to extract 556,000 tonnes from the Bradley site, an area of 73,000 square metres in the Derwent Valley, was hindered by the presence of the tiny animals on a pond in the area where it wants to mine.

A spokesman said: “This application is still going through the planning process with Durham County Council. We have had approval to create three settling ponds (near to the site) and will be starting work this spring. The ponds will ecologically enhance the environment by attracting wildlife into the ponds.

“This is something we have taken upon ourselves to do.”

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18 Oct 08 - Leadgate Needs Help from DDC

There are few villages in NE England without a cycle –way. This is hardly surprising as most were created from the railways which serviced our coal mines and heavy industries. Now we have natural corridors that are shared by pedestrians and cyclists alike. Wild-life of the natural kind, not of the sort that usually mars the quiet enjoyment of the majority by the few, is returning.

But this happy situation cannot possibly continue without the active support and perhaps intervention of the Derwentside District Council. For there remains the same issues around ownership now, 150 days on since the “project” began as when it first started.

Few of our villages can boast to be as neatly divided in two as Leadgate. Here Sustrans Coast to Coast (C2C) passes East to West, crossing the Roman Watling Street just a few yards away from the cross-roads that mark the very heart of Leadgate.

Yet for near to 2 decades issues around ownership have caused what might have made what is now a green and pleasant corridor to be neglected and overgrown, a magnet for anti-social behaviour and a nightmare for residents and cyclists alike. Now, thanks to the efforts of the Pont Valley Network, an organisation supporting all the people of the Pontburn Valley, there has this year been a transformation.

Cyclists no longer pedal furiously to pass through as quickly as possible. Lawns have been laid, gardens planted out, attractive seats made from salvaged timber and stone recovered from areas previously buried under mounds of rubbish and all with a little self-help, determination and ingenuity. All without the help, financial or otherwise, from any outside organisation!

In the past there has been a steadfast refusal by DDC and Sustrans to sit down and resolve issues. Now the Pont Valley Network has shown how we might continue, if only we all find common ground, exactly as we had centuries ago and allow our communities to take care of themselves.

Leadgate is looking good, but it can’t possibly stay that way without council support in routine, daily ways. Such an important part of the village cannot be allowed to become such an eyesore again and it should not fall upon one or two community-minded individuals to take matters into their own hands.

Sustrans, at least at local level, have suggested a mechanism where this might be achieved through a leasing agreement. It should be possible to build on this suggestion and come up with a contract that allows the council to work with the village caretakers to keep this new-found sense of community pride and involvement growing. How about it DDC?

For further information contact David Shields, Moderator at www.pontvalley.net on e e-mail fpmnc@btinternet.com, telephone 01207 582385 or call in at Clifton House, 17 St Ives Road, Leadgate (DH8 7PY).

Created on 26/05/2007 10:08 PM by dshields
Updated on 09/03/2010 07:02 AM by dshields