Community groups celebrate Fox Covert mine grant support
Monday 28 July 2008
Community group representatives from within and around a Northumberland village have come together for a special reception to mark the financial support they’ve received from a local mining firm.
The Banks Group finished coaling at its Fox Covert surface mine near Dinnington in Northumberland earlier this year, and has since fully restored the site to its former status as agricultural land.
A £20,000 community benefits fund was set up to provide funding for projects in the area when work began at the mine, with more than a dozen local organisations receiving support from the fund over the last three years.
Banks hosted a reception at Dinnington Social Club for all of them, to mark the end of coaling at the site and to recognise the contribution that the groups make to the local area.
Projects supported by the Fox Covert fund include the provision of a safe playground for the Dinnington Playgroup, the purchase of a computer suite for the Dinnington Youth Project, and the installation of new disabled toilets at Dinnington Social Club.
Start-up costs for the village’s Guide, Brownie and Rainbow packs have also been met by the fund, as has the cost of installing new fencing and a secure weatherproof noticeboard at St Matthew’s Church.
Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at The Banks Group, says: “Dinnington is a very active village, with a large number of very committed individuals running a wide range of groups which all contribute to the vibrancy of its community.
“Banks has had a very positive relationship with the village over many years, and we’re very pleased that the Fox Covert community benefits fund has been able to support so many different groups.
“"Banks’ policy is to invest and support communities in the vicinity of all our planned and ongoing operations, to ensure that these areas gain from our presence within them, and we’re very confident that the benefits of the Fox Covert fund will continue to be felt in Dinnington for many years to come.”
The Banks Group operates the nearby Delhi surface mine on the Blagdon Estate, and has recently unveiled proposals for a further surface mine on land at Brenkley Lane, to the south of the Delhi site. Last updated: Monday 28 July 2008, 16:13 PM
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