Liz Lynne tours Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in Stoke.

9.10.00am GMT Mon 17th Nov 2008

Liz Lynne, the LibDem MEP for Stoke and the West Midlands, visited the historic Chatterley Whitfield Colliery today to look at the progress that has been made on the site's regeneration.

The area is currently undergoing a large scale project that will see the industrial land surrounding the mine turned into a Country Heritage Park. Work is already underway on the mine building themselves, which are being transformed into a business centre that will help provide jobs for the local community.

Liz visited the site in order to see first hand how the £1.8 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund, which makes up part of the projects funding, is being spent.

The colliery first opened in the early 19th Century. It was the first Colliery in Britain to mine over 1 million tons of coal in a year and was, for a time, one of 22 mines in the Staffordshire area. However, coal production stopped at the site in 1976 and the mine museum was closed in 1991.

The new project seeks to restore life to the site while maintaining its famous spoil heap and its collection of pithead buildings, which are some of the best-kept in England.

Liz toured the site with Tom McCartney, Head of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership, local LibDem Councillor Kieran Clarke and John Redfern, the LibDem parliamentary Spokesperson for Stoke Central.

Speaking after the event Liz said:

"This is a truly fantastic project and I really think it will breathe new life into this magnificent site. I am so pleased that such an important historical monument for the region is to be put to good use.

"This is a superb example of how EU money is being spent right here in the West Midlands to help create jobs, rejuvenate the area and also to provide a place of outstanding beauty as a park for the local residents."

Tom McCarthy added:

"We really think that this project will be invaluable to the people of Stoke and will help preserve the colliery site for future generations. There is lots of hard work still to be done but I am confident that we can create an area that Stoke citizens can be proud of."

ENDS