 First a pit, then a museum, now a business centre |
An EU grant of �2m has been given to the former Chatterley Whitfield pit in north Staffordshire to add to the �2.5m already earmarked for its redevelopment. The money will be used to turn the old main office, the wages office and the laboratory into a centre for small businesses and training courses.
The access road and its junction with Biddulph Road are also going to be improved.
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is the best-preserved large historic coal mine in England.
Situated on the northern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, the former colliery is a cluster of 34 buildings, some scheduled ancient monuments and some listed buildings, surrounded by open land.
Record-breaking production
The growing concern for workers' welfare is portrayed by the 1930s Art Deco pithead baths, canteen and health centre.
It was the first pit in England to produce a million tons of coal in a year - a feat first accomplished in 1937, when it employed nearly 4,000 people.
The site fell into disrepair and when the former mining museum closed a new future for the site was required.
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