The Chatterely Whitfield Partnership

The Chatterley Whitfield Partnership was set up in 1999 between English Heritage, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Advantage West Midlands and Joan Walley MP to find a way to restore the derelict Whitfield colliery. The Friends of Chatterley Whitfield joined the Partnership in 2001, which was later extended to include English Partnerships. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund have also sent representatives to some Partnership meetings.

The Partnership’s fundamental principles were:

• local people should be involved from the outset
• the restored site should generate sufficient income to pay for future maintenance
• the museum would not re-open, but the heritage of the site must be retained

It was clear from the start that the project would take many years to complete. English Heritage promised to contribute over £1m, and the Heritage Lottery Fund provided about £450,000.