Find out more about area's 'lost village' at community orchard
A community orchard was planted on the site of a ‘lost village’.
The site of a lost village is now a special countryside site, with people invited along to learn more.
A local conservation group is helping people to learn more about the flora and fauna around them at a community orchard and picnic spot.
The residents that make up the West Rainton & Leamside Green Group help to manage local green spaces and run a volunteer clean-up team with a view to keeping their environment in the best possible condition.
The group planted a community orchard three years ago in the area that was once the lost village of Middle Rainton and which has since become a popular countryside area for local walkers and dog owners.
Apple, cherry, nut, pear and plum trees were planted on the site, with the fruit available for anyone to pick as they’re passing by.
And now, a £1,400 grant from regional employer the Banks Group’s Banks Community Fund has enabled the Green Group, with help from Durham County Council, to commission and install a new interpretative board which provides information on the animals and plants that can be found around the area.
The new board, which was designed by the local authority, follows on from the recent installation of another board that was funded by the Durham Freemen and highlights the industrial and social history of the lost community, which was the site of a thriving mining village from the early 19th century onwards.
After the colliery closed in 1951, Middle Rainton was identified as one of the county’s Category D villages and had virtually disappeared by the end of the 1960s, with the last elements being cleared as part of the construction of the A690.
The area is now designated as a special countryside site that is owned by Durham County Council and managed in partnership with West Rainton & Leamside Green Group, which is in turn part of the wider West Rainton & Leamside Village Partnership.
West Rainton Green Group member Annie Hastie said: “The Group members do a lot of work to keep our community in the best possible shape and have helped to make this area into a really attractive green space.
“The footpath leads on to Rainton Meadows nature reserve and offers some fantastic views up to the Angel of the North and sometimes as far as the Cheviot Hills.
“It’s a very popular route with both residents and visitors, especially when the crops on the fruit trees we planted are ready to be picked, and we wanted to give them a better understanding of all the different species that call this place home.
“Our members pooled their knowledge to prepare the information on the new board and we hope it will encourage everyone to stop and take a proper look at what’s around them.
“A small community group like ours simply couldn’t have afforded to make this project happen without the generous backing we’ve had from the Banks Group and the Durham Freemen, and we hope that these boards add to the enjoyment that everyone gets from the time they spend in this beautiful green space.”
Banks Homes is currently building 150 new homes at the Cathedral Meadows residential development off Station Road in the village and has supported a range of local community projects, including the installation of a new dedicated steel band practice room at West Rainton Primary School and the village’s biggest annual event, The Big Lunch.
Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, adds: “The Green Group’s members rightly take great pride in their community and in the impressive impact that they have on its environmental well-being.
“These new boards help to tell the fascinating story of this community’s past and present, and we’re very pleased to have helped the Green Group bring their plans to reality.”