Herrington Country Park - How the North East's biggest colliery dump was transformed into a tranquil country park

But for years, what is now Herrington Country Park was anything but a beauty spot – it was an unsightly reminder of Sunderland’s industrial heritage and a blot on the landscape visible for miles around.

Strolling along the park’s pathways, past the lake and around the amphitheatre, it’s hard to believe that for more than a decade it was an ugly contrast to the magnificent Penshaw Monument just the other side of Chester Road.

When Herrington New Pit closed, it was the end of more than 200 years of coal mining in the area.

Colliery

Herrington Colliery originally opened in 1874. It was owned by of the Earl of Durham and the colliery worked the 3ft thick 'Hutton seam' and the 4ft 6ins thick 'Maudlin seam'.

By 1960 the colliery was working five seams and employing almost 1,800 people.

Time was running out, however, and Herrington eventually fell victim to the Conservative Government’s closure programme which would all but end the UK coal mining industry.

The pit finally shut up shop in 1985, after 211 years of production.

But while the colliery may have been gone, its legacy remained in the shape of what was reckoned to be the biggest slag heap in the North East, an eyesore which dominated the landscape and made life a misery for everyone living in the area.

Ten year battle

After ten years of negotiation over the site, reclamation work finally began in January 1996. The redevelopment was carried out to an ambitious plan aimed at transforming the former colliery and its unsightly legacy into an area of natural beauty, creating pathways and lakes, blending the site’s skyline into the one around it.

It was a daunting task for everyone involved– the waste heap contained an estimated 11,000,000 cubic metres of shale, and the work would take several years to complete.

The scheme, estimated to cost around £30million, was funded from the value of the million tonnes of coal extracted from the site, along with £5.5million from English Partnerships and £2million from the City Council.

Wildlife returns after centuries

Workers created three new hills, to mimic the surrounding Hasting, Penshaw and Herrington Hills. A series of ponds was created, including one for model boats, and reed beds planted to filter the water.

A wildlife corridor through the middle of the park utilised the existing Herrington Burn, which flowed into a fishing pond designed in partnership with local angling clubs.

An amphitheatre for open air performances was created and artworks commissioned to reflect the park’s industrial heritage and its place in the local environment.Today, habitats within the park include meadows, woodland, lakes and streams, all of which are managed for wildlife which has returned to the area after more than two centuries of industrialistation.

More than 100 species of birds are believed to call the park home, and the area is popular with birdwatchers as a result.

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