The final stages of a £150 million project to stabilize underground workings in Bath and provide new housing and a heritage centre have been concluded this week.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) writes:
City leaders joined supporters and people from across the country who have worked on the new development at the opening of Ralph Allen CornerStone information centre in Combe Down.
The new facility, which will be run by the Combe Down Stone Legacy Trust, presents the area’s long history of stone production and provides local residents and community groups with space to meet. Its archive will contribute to studies ranging from engineering, geology and technology to conservation, social history and photography.
The event marks the final stage of a £150 million project supported by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which started in 1999 when its Land Stabilisation team shored up the underground workings that had deteriorated following extensive quarrying activity between the 1700s and the 1900s. Nine high quality ‘zero carbon’ homes have also developed on the site as part of the regeneration project.
Martin Hobday from Combe Down Stone Legacy Trust, said: ‘The work that has taken place here has given the area a future whilst providing the community with something that will serve as a fitting reminder of its past. It’s great to be able to welcome people to the centre today and we look forward to making this an integral part of the local community in the years to come.’
Gareth Blacker, the HCA’s head of recoverable investment, added: ‘This event marks the end of a hugely important project for us and the next step towards a bright new future for residents of Combe Down. I can’t think of a more fitting legacy for the area than this new centre and the impressive new homes which will set the standard for any future development here. Local people can be proud of what’s been achieved here and I congratulate partners for their vision and commitment to turning it into reality.’
The Mayor of Bath and Combe Down Ward Councillor Cherry Beath said: ‘I am proud to open this important centre in Combe Down, which symbolises the largely hidden underground, yet huge historical significance of the mines for Bath. The Mines Stabilisation Project was pioneering and unique, and the impact on local people is well documented to look at. The centre will, we feel sure, stimulate new activities and education opportunities for schools and students of all ages, bringing to light more of the fascinating social history of the area. This building, and the new homes, also heralds the future, being an exemplar zero carbon complex and first of its kind for Bath.’
Ralph Allen Cornerstone Project website
