MINING MEMORIES SAVED THANKS TO NATIONAL LOTTERY SURPRISE

A former miner was given the surprise of his life when a National Lottery player went undercover and revealed that a bid for funding had been successful.

John Wiltshire was presented with a cheque for £40,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help preserve the legacy of the last deep coal mine in North Wales.

This was part of The National Lottery’s ‘Thank You Wales’ campaign, allowing players to find out more about the projects that benefit when they buy a lottery ticket.

Vicky Peterson, 46 from Cardiff, posed as a volunteer to find out more about the project.

The Point of Ayr Then and Now project is led by Flintshire County Council’s Countryside Service and will bring the heritage of the colliery to life through a Miners Trail and circular walk using the Wales Coast Path between Ffynnongroyw and Talacre.

John, who is Chairman of Point of Ayr Community Heritage (POACH), said: “This money from the National Lottery means the world to me and the other miners. Since Point of Ayr was closed and flattened in 1996 there is now virtually no evidence that it ever existed.

“We are all really excited to bring the mine back to life, and to educate both local people and visitors about the mine’s importance, not just locally, but also to the heritage of Wales as a whole.

“When Vicky revealed that she wasn’t with us to volunteer, and presented me with the cheque I was completely overwhelmed. We’ve all dreamt of receiving this National Lottery funding since we submitted the application, and it will go a long way to realising our vision.”

Vicky Peterson, who works as a project manager for Lloyds Bank and has been playing the National Lottery since it started said: “It’s not every day you get to hand over a cheque to an organisation knowing that the money is going to help make a difference to a whole community.

“John is so passionate about the project and that really came through when he was talking about it. The money will provide an important education resource for schools, visitors and local people, explaining the heritage of the area. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was a fantastic experience to be part of.

“When you buy a National Lottery ticket you usually think about the money up for grabs, but I’d never really thought too much about the fact that some of my ticket money goes to such deserving local community initiatives like Point of Ayr Then and Now.”

Jackie O’Sullivan, Director of National Lottery Good Causes, said: “National Lottery players have raised a massive £1.6 billion to fund projects right across Wales. The ‘Thank you Wales’ campaign is thanking lottery players, without whom none of this would be possible. We want to make National Lottery players aware of the thousands of fantastic projects across Wales which are successful, thanks to their funding.”

Vicky also met Mike Taylor, from Flintshire County Council’s Countryside Service. The project is a collaboration between Flintshire County Council’s Countryside Service, POACH, Shropshire Miners Trust and North Wales Miners Association Trust, with support from ENI, Dangerpoint, RSPB, and with match funding from the Coastal Communities Fund.

Flintshire County Council Cabinet Member for Planning and the Environment, Councillor Bernie Attridge, said: “Flintshire is delighted to have been involved in such a worthy project and the results have been really well received. The grant from the National Lottery has gone a long way to restoring this landmark for generations to come.”

Watch the video of Vicky surprising John here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxEpJZEIsxg

ENDS