From Local Heritage Initiative Press Release
Date: 19th March, 2002
New walking trails that give the visitor a fascinating insight into England’s heritage are being opened up this year, thanks to the Local Heritage Initiative (LHI), which is run by the Countryside Agency with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Nationwide Building Society.
Explains Nicola Webley, Head of the Local Heritage Initiative: “Local groups in villages and towns all around the country have been working on new heritage trails, thanks to funding from LHI. Many of them had to stop work when foot and mouth lead to access restrictions but, as areas were declared free from the disease, they were able to continue their work and now large numbers are either opening this Spring or later in the year. Now, the groups really want people to come and walk these trails and find out more about their local history and heritage.”
LHI is a grant scheme designed to help local groups to investigate, explain and care for their local landscape, landmarks, traditions and culture. It is a community-based scheme, for community-led action, drawing support from local organisations, and is administered by the Countryside Agency, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Nationwide Building Society. The aim is to celebrate the past, to inform the present and encourage thought and action for the future. Grants cover a wide range of heritage types - natural, built, archaeological, industrial or cultural/traditions.
East Durham Villages Heritage Trail, Co Durham
Opening September. This eight-mile trail links six settlements in Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Easington and Sedgefield constituency. The trail is in a former mining area and incorporates a mineral rail line, one length of which is a Sustrans cycle route. Features include: Wheatley Hill – a ceramic timeline on the side of the village school, a heritage centre, a 3D map of the village in its heyday, the monument to the Wingate disaster and the grave of trade unionist Peter Lee.
Group Name: Wheatley Hill
Community Partnership
Project Contact: Gordon Tempest Tel: 01429 823 505
Address:Wheatley Hill, Durham
Finishing Date:31 December 2002