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"Bedlington has always been a priority for the council" - did someone miss out the words "very low" in that sentence?

Presumably they are also selling the land they were given for nothing!

Maggie,I wouldn't be surprised one little bit!....can you remember the brand new "TopClub" that was built and demolished within a few short years,where Morrison's now stands? That building was state of the art,at the time,they were putting cinema matinees for the kids,etc......but subsidence took it's toll....whether or not mining was the cause,I do not know. Eggy,thanks for your comment,but just a thought,while the Durham Mining Mueum is a fabulous site,do not place too much faith in the facts and figures presented there,as there are several gliches in the information contained therein! How do I know?..... Because there are misleading facts regarding seams worked ,and fatalities,at Choppington High Pit. Some of the Fatalities have dates which,if true,would mean that I started the pit when I was 13-or 14 years old! One in particular,a lovely old fella,was killed at the coal face,about ten minutes after him and me were having our usual daily cross/shift natter,on his way inbye.[in the early 1960's] Old Walter used to keep the 2-0pm shift,and the nature of both our jobs meant that we would usually cross paths just down the roadway from the coal-face,where he worked...I would be going outbye,as he was going inbye. I always asked him what the weather was like at bank,[the surface],and that day his last words were.."Wilma,it's a luvly day,ye want ti get your bonny lass oot for a nice waak alang thi river..[meaning the river Blyth]. He knew I was courting,and always affectionately referred to my lass as..."Your Bonny Lass..." As we parted company that day,I was deeply shocked just minutes later when the Overman came running up the Mothergate. [A]..the roadway was pretty steep,and very difficult to even walk up,and ....it was against the Law,[and common sense and unsafe to run...] So,I knew something was terribly wrong. Joe Barrat,the Overman,passed me,sweating like the proverbial......and when I asked him what was wrong,he shouted back at me,"old Walter's been killed,the coal's lapped owa on him." Well,the coal was 10 feet high,and varying in height,as the face advanced,due to undulations in the strata,Walter had just started to prepare the area of the face where he worked,to begin advancing the Stageloader conveyor tail-end,when the full height of the seam broke away and .."lapped owa"[fell away],and buried him fatally.I just couldn't take it in...he was there one minute...and gone the next.[i was only 17 or 18 yrs old.] The Durham Museum states he was killed by a fall of stone,[incorrect,and other misleading figures]. No doubt,to their credit,they DO stand to be corrected ,where possible,but they are not going to change their facts based upon what I say,even though I went into that same coalface every day,several times a day sometimes,and knew it,as well as all the rest of the pit,due to the nature of my job. Mining was a cruel industry...I went down that roadway and all the way out of the other adjoining roads,to where my Marra's and me used to get our baits...["the Bait-hole"],on my own,[with my pony],almost in tears,and trying hard to hold them back,as I broke the news to the rest of my Marra's. They all said the daft thing which we all say..."He canna be man,wiv just been taakin' ti him......." Walter was sadly missed,cos he was really well-liked,by everybody at the pit. The one thing I can be proud of is,being part of a team of men,and I mean the whole workforce,and Management,who would show respect for a fatally injured Marra,by closing the pit,the following day. No other pit that I worked at,showed this mark of respect,the only mark being shown,was the black drape over the Union Banner on Miner's Picnic Day following the accident. R.I.P. Walter Grey.