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."