Lost Words Found Objects take to the Great Flat Lode

For the second part of the Lost Words Found Objects project, year 7 students led by artist Ben Cook, walked the Great Flat Lode trail. The young people navigated themselves using O.S maps and compasses from Wheal Basset to King Edward Mine. Along the way the students from Pool Business and Enterprise College recorded what they saw and found using sketchbooks and digital media, keping their eyes open for as many 'Lost Words' as they could find.

As the project progresses they will be encouraged to find ways in which they can manifest their 'Lost Words' in a physical form of their choosing. The words will be collated in to a book and used to inform and inspire artists working on the Heartlands project.

Architects impressions of the new builds at Heartlands

Above shows the view when walking from Pool Village into Heartlands, with Robinsons Shaft visible through the new community building.

A small playground will be located to the back of the community building, a Children's Centre occupies half of this building. In addition to this small play area there will be a large playground located in the park at Heartlands.

Aerial impression of the former tin mine buildings at Robinsons Shaft and also the complex of new builds which will include a community building, artist studios, apartments, market square, events space in the form of a plain an gwarry.

Above shows the plain an gwarry which will be at Heartlands, which is surrounded by artist studios with residential space above and a market square.

Work and community space for rent at Heartlands

Are you an artist looking for a new studio? A business who needs a place to work? A community group looking for somewhere to meet? A fitness instructor with no where to teach? Or a band who needs practise space?

Once open in 2011, Heartlands will have a range of flexible spaces in idyllic surroundings. Spaces include a large community hall, seminar rooms, artist studios, office spaces. If you are interested in renting space at Heartlands then please phone us on 01209 722323.

Pool pupils surf the waves on their eco boards

After months of preparation, students from Pool Business and Enterprise College have taken to the waves at Gwithian Beach on individually created belly boards inspired by life in Cornwall, and made out of recycled wood.

Panels of un-used wood, which were collected from Heartlands at Robinson's Shaft in Pool by the year nine students, have been transformed into eco-friendly belly boards. The boards have been illustrated with images chosen by the pupils, which depict stories they have gathered from their family members and local residents about life in Pool.

The project, named 'Lost Words, Found Objects', involves working with the local community to help develop the project and inspire the artists and designers working at Heartlands. This strand of the project was led by local artist Ben Cook.

Ben said the event at Gwithian Beach named 'Exhibition in the Sea' gave pupils the opportunity to showcase their boards both in and out of the water.

"After a professional surf lesson the pupils had a fantastic time trying out their boards. The belly boards are completely unique and the images that the pupils have chosen are all personal to their experiences of Pool's past and how they see the future of the area."

Ben added: "This has been an exciting project for the pupils to get involved with and they have learnt that sustainable living can be fun. Raw materials, which were no longer of use on the Heartlands site and have now been transformed into fantastic original belly boards for the pupils to surf on and will later be exhibited at Heartlands for all to see."

The pupils boards were judged by Debbie Luffman, designer from Finisterre, which sells surfinspired, environmentally-focused technical clothes. Members from the Cornwall Council’s west Cornwall outreach team also joined in the day’s event.

We were also very lucky to have myCornwall.tv film all the bellyboard action from start to finish .

Australian mining expert visits Heartlands

Heartlands has welcomed a mining expert from Australia to the site as part of a wider tour of the county.

Corrine Unger, who has a specialist interest in the use of former mining sites, spent an afternoon at Heartlands earlier this month, to learn about the £29.5 million project and how it is set to transform the area into a truly inspirational landscape.

The visit to Heartlands was arranged by the Post-Mining Alliance, which is an independent not-forprofit organisation with a mission to encourage and promote the regeneration of old mine sites for the sustainable benefit of the local community and natural environment.

Heartlands is planned to transform Cornwall’s most derelict urban area into a truly inspirational cultural landscape. Heartlands became a reality in 2007 after receiving a £22.3 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks programme, the only project in England to be awarded this funding. Additional funding has been provided by the Homes and Communities Agency, the national housing and regeneration agency for England and from Cornwall Council. All funding for the project is secure and major works are planned to start in early 2010.

Carolyn Rule, Cornwall Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration, said:
"Heartlands is an exciting project and the former mining site is rich with history and of great interest to those in the industry. It is great for the Heartlands project team to welcome global visitors, such as Corrine to the site, and give them the opportunity to spread the word about this inspiring project.”

Scott James, Heartlands Programme Director, said: “We were delighted to welcome Corrine to Heartlands and give her a first hand account of what is planned for the site. Corrine was really interested about the scale of the project, with the community and sustainability elements, which are embedded within a physical regeneration scheme.

“We enjoy welcoming industry specialists to Heartlands as it gives us the opportunity to discuss with people how we intend to transform the site whilst understanding more on shared issues which affect their projects and ambitions in different regions of the world."

Opportunity to learn more about Heartlands

Guided tours around Heartlands in Pool will give people living in the local community the opportunity to learn first hand, how the £29.5 million project is progressing.

The tours, which will take place on Friday October 2 at 2pm and Wednesday October 7 at 6pm, will guide people around the perimeters of the site. Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager will lead the tour and also be on hand to answer any questions people may have about the Project.

Heartlands is planned to transform Cornwall’s most derelict urban area into a truly inspirational cultural landscape. Heartlands became a reality in 2007 after receiving a £22.3 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks programme, the only project in England to be awarded this funding. Additional funding has been provided by the Homes and Communities Agency, the national housing and regeneration agency for England and Cornwall Council. All funding for the project is secure and major works are planned to start early 2010.

Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager, said: “The Heartlands tours are a great way for members of the community to come on to the site and see for themselves the plans for the development of the site. We’ve run a number of tours already and the feedback is always that people really enjoy learning first hand how the Project is progressing and having the opportunity to ask any questions as they walk around.”

The tours will be limited to 10 people. Anyone interested in taking part in the site tour should contact Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager on 01209 722323.

Getting the wheels in motion for a new Cornish cycle hub

Over 60 miles of the main cycle routes in Cornwall are being mapped out and recorded to help inform plans for a new cycling hub in the heart of Cornwall.

As part of the development of Heartlands in Pool two members of the team are in the process of extensively mapping the cycle networks across the county to determine how they could eventually link to the site.

Routes including Mineral Tramways trails and the National Cycle Network will be documented by Heartlands team members Hugo Bugg and Maren Hallenga. Details including the length, altitude and accessibility of the existing cycle trails routes are being recorded to see how they can be improved, link up successfully with Heartlands and how new routes can be developed to improved and increase access to the area.

The £29.5 million Heartlands in Pool is planned to transform Cornwall’s most derelict urban area into a truly inspirational cultural landscape. Heartlands became a reality in 2007 after receiving a £22.3 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks programme, the only project in England to be awarded this funding. Additional funding has been provided by the Homes and Communities Agency, the national housing and regeneration agency for England and Cornwall Council.

Hugo Bugg, one of the cycle project researchers, said: “This has been a really exciting project to
be involved with and we hope our findings will put Heartlands firmly on the map for what is has to offer cyclists.

“Once complete we will have spent more than six months researching the cycle routes and reviewing how Heartlands can link to the established cycle paths, including the Sustrans Network. It is our ambition that Heartlands becomes a hub for all cycling activity in Cornwall.

“The findings of our research will go live once we’ve finished mapping out and reviewing the existing routes during the coming months, people will be able to review our research online on the Heartlands website.”

Scott James, Heartlands Programme Director, said: “We have the opportunity with Heartlands to inspire people to get out on their bikes and promote cycling as an environmentally friendly form of transport for social, recreational, work and tourism purposes.

“Heartlands can become a hub for Cornwall’s cyclists, to establish a Cornish cycling community and offer opportunities to learn about the benefits of cycling, alongside the local history and geography.

“The cycle hire and storage facilities will be positioned close to the centre of Pool Village to ensure that the local community has access to these facilities, as well as making them easily accessible to visitors to the area.”

BIG Lottery Fund Chief Executive visits Heartlands

The Chief Executive of the BIG Lottery Fund, Peter Wanless, paid a visit to Heartlands in Pool on Friday (July 10) as part of his tour of the South West.

Peter spent time meeting members of Heartlands team and later took a tour of the 18 acre site to see the essential site preparation work that has taken place before work officially gets underway.

Heartlands became a reality in 2007 after receiving a £22.3 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks programme, the only project in England to be awarded this funding.

Peter Wanless, Chief Executive of BIG Lottery Fund, said: “Heartlands is a truly transformational project and it was great to visit the site and see the steps that are being taken towards getting work officially underway.

”This is a hugely important project for BIG Lottery Fund as it incorporates so many key elements of sustainable community and environmental development all in one place. We are very proud to have been able to award the grant to Heartlands and look forward to seeing the project take shape.”

The £29.5 million Heartlands in Pool is planned to transform Cornwall’s most derelict urban area into a truly inspirational cultural landscape. Additional funding has been provided by the Homes and Communities Agency, the national housing and regeneration agency for England and Cornwall Council.

Scott James, Heartlands Programme Director, said: “Without the investment from the BIG Lottery Fund The Heartlands Project would never have made it from its design plan stage to reality.

“We were delighted to welcome Peter onto the site and show him all the preparation work that has been undertaken as we work towards the official start on site.”

Pool pupils set to ride the waves

Pupils from Pool Business and Enterprise College will take to the waves at Gwithian Beach next month on belly boards inspired by life in Cornwall, and made out of recycled wood.

The year nine pupils have been busy collecting panels of un-used wood from The Heartlands Project in Pool, which will be transformed into the perfect eco-friendly belly boards.

The pupils spent an afternoon at the site collecting the raw materials and getting inspiration for words to describe the multi million pound Heartlands project, which will be inscribed onto the boards. Stories gleaned from family members and local residents about life in Pool will also be illustrated on the belly boards.

In July, the pupils involved with the belly board making project will showcase their hand crafted
boards at Gwithian Beach, before taking part in a professional surf lesson. Pupils will then hit the waves and try out their boards in a cultural surf event, where the inspiring belly boards designed and created by the young people will be put to the test.


The project, named Lost Objects, Found Words, is being led by artist Ben Cook. Ben said: “This has been an exciting project for the pupils to get involved with. Not only are they learning more about The Heartlands Project but they are also learning that sustainable living can be fun.

“We’re taking raw materials that are no longer of use on site and transforming the wood into fantastic original belly boards for the pupils to learn to surf on. Belly boarding was thought to have started in the very early 1900’s when a form of the Hawaiian ‘Paipo’ board was copied by British Soldiers returning from the Great War inspired by stories of surfing from South Africa, Australia and Hawaii.

“The belly boards, which are currently being cut into shape, will be lightweight and extremely durable and what will make them unique will be the inscriptions that the pupils choose relating to Heartlands.

“After the pupils have given their boards a test run they will be exhibited at The Heartlands Project for all to see.”

Pathway re-opens in Pool

A public walkway linking two of the main roads in Pool has been re-opened by Heartlands.

Access through the Heartlands site between Dudnance Lane and Station road was temporarily closed while site preparation work took place near the sites parameters. Sections of the former path have been replaced by Midas Construction, and a new gravelled walkway now runs parallel to the site, linking up the existing pathways and providing an access route for the public.

Steve Luck, Operations Manager, Midas Construction, said: “In order to ensure the health and safety of the public we temporarily closed off access through the site whilst essential site preparation work took place. We have now reopened the pathway, and levelled the path with gravel to provide easy access to the public.”

Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager, said: “It’s great the pathway is now open again for full public use. The walkway is already attracting dog walkers and cyclists out and about in Pool and we wanted to let everyone else know that path access between two of Pool’s main routes is open again. The new section of the pathway runs directly alongside the Heartlands site and provides the perfect view of the site for the public to watch the area develop.”

Local community invited to become friends of Heartlands

Members of the Pool community are being invited to become a ‘Friend of Heartlands’ to play a role in the ongoing development and success of the multi million pound development.

People can now register an interest to become a volunteer for the Project, which became a reality last year after receiving a £22.3 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks programme – the only project in England to be awarded Living Landmarks funding.

There will be a number of jobs on site, which the Friends of Heartlands will be able to get involved with, varying from gardening, wildlife, stewarding events and giving guided tours around the site.

As the Project progresses more roles will be developed and long term the Friends of Heartlands will play a vital role in working with the community to ensure the ongoing success of the site, its events and facilities.

Anyone interested in joining the group is being invited to a meeting on Wednesday May 6, from 6pm at Heartlands to learn more about the project and to have the opportunity to meet members of the team. The meeting will take place in Compressor House on the site and will provide people with the perfect opportunity to find out what the volunteer roles involve and how they can become a ‘Friend of Heartlands’.

Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager, said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone in the local community interested in taking more of an active role in the Project to get involved. We’ll be looking at matching people’s skills across all areas of the Project. We’re extremely lucky as Heartlands is so diverse there should be no shortage of roles and something for everyone.

“We’re calling on everyone in the community from ex-miners, who may have a historical link to the site, through to keen gardeners who may be prepared to give up their time to help maintain the Project.

Inspiring the future - Pupils join forces at story telling event

More than 220 pupils from schools across the Camborne, Pool and Redruth area have come together to recall memories and tell their stories of the area.

The pupils from seven schools have spent the last 10 weeks gathering stories and speaking to older generations in their family to learn about their memories.

The story telling event, which was held at Carn Brea Leisure Centre on 24 March, gave the pupils involved with the project the opportunity to exhibit their stories to members of the public and other family relatives.

Members of the Heartlands Project were on hand to talk about the development of the Project and professional storyteller, Mark Harandon, entertained the pupils with exciting tales in between tours around the storyboards. To mark the end of the event all the children involved with the story telling project were presented with a Heartlands bookmark and certificate. Four pupils from each school, will be awarded a book token for the best stories and their stories will feature in a booklet which will be produced to tell the story of Heartlands, its past, present and future.

The stories that have been gathered will help form part of the Heartlands social history archive
which will be accessible to all of the commissioned artists working on the project. The stories will
enable the artists to gain inspiration and allow them to base their ideas on real accounts and
experiences of the area.


Cllr Carolyn Rule, Kerrier District Council’s portfolio holder for economy and regeneration, said: “The story telling event was a wonderful opportunity for the young and old to come together and recall fascinating memories and experiences of growing up in the area.

“Paul Annear, from Pool Business & Enterprise College worked with Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager, to collect the stories with the pupils.

Kirsty said: “The story telling event was a fantastic opportunity to get all the children that were involved with the workshops together and share the fascinating memories that had been collected. I’m delighted that the feedback from everyone involved was really positive and I know that the pupils are really excited about the Heartlands Project becoming a reality in the knowledge they have helped inspire elements of it. “

A big thank from Heartlands and Pool Business and Enterprise College goes to all 7 primary schools for your enthusiasm and wonderful stories which will contribute to the Heartlands Social History Archive. The archive will be stored at Heartlands and features stories from local residents, young people and miners about life in Pool. The archive will be used to inspire artists and designers working at Heartlands.

Celebrating the past, present and future of Pool

An intriguing and inspiring audio exhibition recalling the memories and experiences of people growing up in the area is open to the public until Sunday March 29 at The Bassett Institute in Pool.

‘Mine is Yours’ is inspired by people and place and investigates stories and memories of life in Pool, both past, present and future.

Contemporary artist Laura Smith has spent the last five months researching the history, heritage and stories associated with the area and the people who lived and worked there.

The audio exhibition centres around four themes: The Community, Wives and Families, older generation miners and younger generation miners. The interviews Laura has gathered have been re-recorded by pupils at Pool Business and Enterprise College and it is these accounts that will be played out of the four corners of the room.

Laura Smith, the artist leading the ‘Mine is Yours’ exhibition, said: “It’s been a great experience collecting the fascinating stories and memories, many of them from ex-miners from the area.

“The exhibition should be of interest to both the old and the young and the aim of working with the pupils from Pool School was to combine the heritage with the future. The pupils were fascinated with the real life experiences that were gathered and really enjoyed getting involved and extracting the most exciting parts of the interviews to tell the story.”

The stories that are gathered will help form part of the Heartlands Social History archive which will be accessible to all of the commissioned artists working on the project. The stories will enable the artists to gain inspiration and base their ideas on real accounts and experiences of the area.

Mine is Yours art installation opens to celebrate the past, present and future of Pool

Contemporary artist Laura Smith is set to open an intriguing and inspiring exhibition at The Bassett Institute at the heart of the Heartlands Pool Village scheme on Tuesday, 24 March.

The exhibition is the result of five months research in to the history, heritage and stories associated with the area and the people who lived and worked there. ‘Mine is Yours’ is inspired by people and place and investigates stories and memories of life in Pool, both past, present and future.

Since September Laura has collected over twenty fascinating stories and memories, many of them from ex-miners from the area. Ahead of the exhibition Laura is working with young people at Pool Business and Enterprise College to put the finishing touches to her creative work.

The exhibition is open from March 24 until 29 and is open from 2pm - 6pm weekdays, 10am -6pm on Sat 28, and 11am - 4pm on Sun 29 ‘Mine is Yours’ is part of the Mining Landscape project, a project of Aune Head Arts with Heartlands and the Tamar Valley AONB.

Alongside Laura’s work, year five pupils from seven local schools are busy recalling their experiences of growing up and living in the area and speaking to older generations in their family to learn about their memories.

The stories that are gathered will help form part of the Heartlands Social History archive which will be accessible to all of the commissioned artists working on the project. The stories will enable the artists to gain inspiration and base their ideas on real accounts and experiences of the area.

All the 220 pupils involved with the story gathering will exhibit their work at a celebration event on March 24, from 9:30am- 12pm at Carn Brea Leisure Centre. The event will be open to parents, relatives and the public and will be a showcase of all the stories and memories of the area.

Heartlands is planned to transform Cornwall’s most derelict urban area into a truly inspirational cultural landscape. The project became a reality last year after receiving a £22.3 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks programme – the only project in England to be awarded Living Landmarks funding.

The development will create a unique setting for a range of activities that are essential for the area’s social regeneration. Specific elements of the project include a new park and gardens area, one of the largest adventure playgrounds in the south west, exhibition and event areas, artist studios, a restaurant and residential housing.

Heartlands team gather stories to further inspire the project

The memories and experiences of local people that live in the area surrounding the Heartlands Project in Pool are being gathered by primary school pupils.

Year five pupils from seven local schools are busy recalling their experiences of growing up and living in the area and speaking to older generations in their family to learn about their memories.

The stories that are gathered will help form part of the Heartlands Social History archive which will be accessible to all of the commissioned artists working on the project. The stories will enable the artists to gain inspiration and base their ideas on real accounts and experiences of the area.

Cllr Carolyn Rule, Kerrier District Council’s portfolio holder for economy and regeneration, said: “It’s great to see all generations getting involved with making their mark on the Heartlands Project.

From the start of the project the creative ideas from the very people that live in the area have helped shape the plans. As the project gathers pace the pupils involved with the story telling event can feel a real sense of pride that their ideas and experiences have helped inspire the project.”

Paul Annear, from Pool Business & Enterprise College is working with Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager, to collect the stories through a series of workshops with the pupils.

Kirsty said: “The children we’ve worked with so far are delighted to be involved and have had a great time recalling their own memories. All the students have said how exciting it has been to go home and learn more about the history of the area from their family members and said they’ve learnt a lot in the process.”

All the 220 pupils involved with the story gathering will exhibit their work at a celebration event on March 24, from 9:30am- 12pm at Carn Brea Leisure Centre. The event will be open to parents, relatives and the public and will be a showcase of all the stories and memories of the area.

Pupils will be rewarded for their work and will be presented with a Heartlands bookmark and certificate. Four winning pupils from each school will also receive a book token and will feature in a booklet about the project.

Heartlands tours on offer to the local community

Local people are being reminded that guided tours are taking place on a monthly basis around Heartlands in Pool.

The next monthly tour will leave Pool Health Centre on Friday 6th March at 2pm and the group will have the opportunity to learn first hand how the site will be transformed into an inspirational cultural landscape.

The group tours will be an opportunity for people to see how work on the site is progressing. The tours are being conducted by Heartlands Community Project Manager, Kirsty Davies.

Kirsty will be able to answer any questions people may have about the project and give commentary about key milestones whilst leading the group around perimeters of the 7.5 hectare site.

Kirsty said: “The feedback we’ve had from the tours I’ve already done has been really positive. The tours are another opportunity for local people to hear first hand from a member of the project team about what’s going on at the site and stay up to date with the project before work officially gets underway.”

Pool School students get creative at Heartlands

Art students from Pool Business and Enterprise College are using their creative talent to help make elements of Heartlands become reality.

The year-nine students are working closely with one of Heartlands’ commissioned artists, Nicky Neate, to carve their own designs on 20 wooden poles, which will form the outline of the smaller outdoor performance space on the site.

‘Plain an Gwarry’, which means ‘playing place’, will be set in the heart of the unique landscape, and host workshops and visiting theatres groups.

The students spent time at the Heartlands site in Pool gathering artefacts to inspire their designs on the 20 poles. To help capture the sites memories the students were given a first hand account of the area’s history from ex-miner Peter Hughes and were also given a tour of the Engine House, situated at the centre of the project in Robinson’s Shaft.

Cllr Carolyn Rule, Kerrier District Council’s portfolio holder for economy and regeneration, said: “Creativity and people are at the heart of Heartlands and this is a great example of just that. The young people have been a strong part of our inspirations for Heartlands from the beginning and it’s great to learn about how they are now helping make the project become reality and making their mark on what will essentially be an area for them to use and enjoy.”

Nicky Neate, one of the commissioned artists working on the Heartlands Project, said:” The students have been involved with Heartlands since the early days so despite the weather the students really enjoyed themselves. We tried to make the session as fun as possible the students wore wigs and performed a dance around the ‘Plain an Gwarry’ performance space where their designed poles will eventually be placed.

“People and creativity are at the heart of Heartlands and by combining the two it is our aspiration that the community has a sense of pride and ownership over the project.”

Scott James, Heartlands Programme Director, said:” The design of Heartlands has been subject to extensive consultation with the local community and students from Pool Business and Enterprise College played a large part in helping to inform the design process. It was great to have them on site, especially at such an exciting time as works are now well underway to prepare the site for the major site works to start.”

Local people invited on a tour of Heartlands

Local people are being given an opportunity to have a guided tour around the site of Heartlands in Pool.

The first tour will leave Pool Health Centre on Friday 5th December at 1pm and the group will have the opportunity to learn first hand how the currently derelict land will be transformed into an inspirational cultural landscape.

The tour, which is set to be the first of many, will be guided by Heartlands Community Project Manager, Kirsty Davies. Kirsty will lead the group around the perimeters of the site and will give people a commentary about what’s planned on the 7.5 hectare site and also answer any questions people may have about Heartlands.

Kirsty said: “We’re keen to get as many local people as possible involved with the tours. As a community led project the guided tours will be another opportunity for local people to stay up to date with the project in the lead up to the official start on site early next year and thereafter.”

The tours will be limited to 10 people and anybody interested should contact Kirsty Davies, Heartlands Community Project Manager on 01209 722323.