independent Cornish news and comment

Caradon: £1.8 MILLION SECURED FOR REGENERATION PROJECT OF EAST CORNWALL

Cornwall Council's Landscape and Urban Design Unit has recently secured £1.8 million of funding for the East Cornwall Regeneration Project.



The project, which will run until May 2008, comprises of a number of key elements including:



· Consolidation, safety works and access improvements to a number of historic mine sites between Drakewalls and Kelly Bray, including Hingston Down Consols, Prince of Wales Mine at Harrowbarrow, Drakewalls East Mine, and Holmbush Mine near Kelly Bray.



· Construction of a new gateway visitor centre for the Tamar Valley at Drakewalls, incorporating rentable workshops, office space for the Tamar Valley Service and Calstock Parish Council, and a new home for the Calstock Parish Archive.



· Development of linking trails between the mine sites and around the Cotehele Estate to facilitate exploration of the area by cyclists and pedestrians.



· Works by the National Trust on their Cotehele Estate to undertake improvements to the working water-mill, provide an enhanced maritime exhibition at Cotehele Quay, and to establish an apple orchard to conserve Tamar Valley fruit stock.



· Provision of site interpretation and implementation of a marketing strategy, to promote the area to visitors and generate economic benefits to the local communities through increased tourism.



The project has been developed in partnership with Caradon District Council, the Tamar Valley Service, the National Trust, and Calstock Parish Council, with the close co-operation of the Duchy of Cornwall. Funding has also been obtained from European Community Objective One, South West Regional Development Agency, Countryside Agency, and Callington Town Council, with additional in-kind contributions of quarry stone from Hanson Aggregates.



Chris Hariades, Principal Project Officer said, 'This is an exciting project which will provide significant access improvements to a number of historic mine sites. The proposed Tamar Valley Centre dramatically sited above the Tamar Valley will serve as a gateway for visitors to the area informing them of the mining and horticultural importance of the Tamar Valley and highlighting key local sites and attractions to visit.'



The project will complement the West Devon Mining Heritage Project being developed by the Tamar Valley Service, and also the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site Bid.