Former colliery at risk

Article from www.bbc.co.uk

A former colliery in Stoke-on-Trent has been named among the most buildings at-risk in England.

Chatterley Whitfield needs at least £25m of public funding to be repaired English Heritage estimates.

The group said the colliery, which closed in 1977, needed more money spending on it than any other at risk building in the country.

In total there are 42 grade I and grade II-listed at risk buildings in Staffordshire, it added.

Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a cluster of 34 buildings, some scheduled ancient monuments and some listed buildings, surrounded by open land.

It was the first pit in England to produce a million tons of coal in a year - a feat first accomplished in 1937, when it employed nearly 4,000 people.