Construction firm digs in with mining sector deal

A construction firm has secured a £2.5 million mining industry contract.

Compass Developments is set to restore Woodhorn Museum’s Heapstead structures.

The 40-week project will include steelwork repair and restoration, lighting upgrades and redecoration of the Northumberland-based Grade II-listed Heapsteads, which helped bring coal to the surface at the former Woodhorn Colliery.

The pit operated between 1894 and 1981, with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of coal mined from its underground reserves every year.

The restoration work is supported by investment from Northumberland County Council and The Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, led by Historic England and funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Ian Simpson, director at Cramlington-based Compass Developments, said: “We are delighted to be appointed to a project that will benefit the local community and leave a lasting legacy.

“We are working closely with Historic England.”

Councillor Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, added: “It’s great news this careful restoration work is to be carried out by a local company with a local workforce.”

Woodhorn Museum is one of 12 museums and galleries within the North East Museums Partnership. 

Jo Raw, Northumberland venues manager for North East Museums, said: “This project will help safeguard these remarkable structures for future generations, while ensuring visitors can continue to connect with the stories of the communities who lived and worked here.”

The work comes after Compass Developments cheered a city housing contract on former brewery land.

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