A West Cumbrian mining museum is set to get a new lease of life.
Haig Colliery Mining Museum, in Kells, is set to be revamped and reopened by Mike Johnson, of Cockermouth, who owns and runs AJ Johnson Ltd in Workington.
Alongside bringing back the museum, he wants to explore new uses for the site, and is asking the local community for ideas.
Mike is also opening a new café in one of the external buildings on site, which will be operated by Gina Goulding, of Bakes by Gina, who also runs Beach Road Bakehouse in St Bees.
The museum has been closed since 2016 and was previously owned by West Cumbria Mining, who were spearheading plans for a new coal mine before the idea was withdrawn last year.
Mike said he made the decision to buy the site to keep its history alive while also breathing new life into it.
He added: “I have a welding and fabrication business and we would have been working with West Cumbria Mining, so when that didn’t go ahead, the opportunity came up to purchase the site.
“I’ve actually got links back to open cast mining with my father who worked in the open cast here in West Cumbria and I love history and it’s such an iconic building.
“So that’s where the drive and want came from for taking the site on.”
Mike said possible ideas for the site so far – alongside it running as a museum and café – could involve the creation of an event or live music space.
He added: “There will definitely be a museum space, but it’s not sustainable to just be a museum on its own, history would tell us that is the case.
“It needs to be a multi-use building and I want to engage with the community and see what they would support, because it needs to be somewhere people want to go and use.
“But we have got the museum collection as part of the sale and it will be displayed once we know exactly what we’re doing with the building.
“It’s got lots of space and there is lots of opportunities in that. But we need that support from the local community because without that, it won’t succeed.
“We’ve had an excellent response so far, I think people are pleased to see something happening with the site.”
Mike said work on the site will take a few years to complete, but that he is planning to first open the new café with Gina by mid March.
He added that it will also create job opportunities locally through the café and the museum itself once it opens.
Mike said: “The first part of the project will be to get the building wind and water tight. To be realistic, we’re probably talking a few years before we open fully.
“It’s a grade two listed building and it’s registered as an ancient monument, so nothing happens quickly with these buildings!
“But we’ll be working with all the appropriate people to make sure we do things how they should be done.
“It’s exciting and scary, it’s a massive undertaking to deliver it, especially when there’s so many eyes watching it.
“We don’t want it to open for two years and close, we want it to be a moment in time where we actually achieve something that has a long lasting legacy.”
Mike added that he wants the museum to keep the history of mining alive and accessible for future generations in the town.
He said: “It’s very important to keep that history alive, we must not forget what has gone before. A lot of people lost their lives and we need to have a monument to recognise that.
“A number of people have come along and spoken to me already who have worked down the pit before it closed and it’s really good to engage with those people.
“I am really looking forward to speaking with those people again and others in the future.
“It’s a massive part of our history and it’s how we’ve ended up where we are today and we need to preserve that history.”
People interested in keeping up with the museum’s progress can follow the team on Facebook here.
