Shock among staff at Heartlands attraction in Cornwall

It looks like the once salvaged engine house at its centre will now stand forlorn like so many reminders of Cornwall’s industrial heyday.

The trust that runs the £35m visitor attraction, at the Robinson’s Shaft of the former South Crofty mine, said last week it was no longer able to cover the operational costs of such a large site, despite it attracting around 360,000 people each year eager to learn about Cornwall’s culture and mining heritage.

Heartlands originally received £22m from the Big Lottery Fund, the biggest grant it had given to a single project in England at the time, with the site’s landlord Cornwall Council and the European Union also providing funding.

The National Lottery Community Fund, which has been the attraction’s biggest benefactor, revealed this week that it had pulled its funding, saying Heartlands had become unsustainable and “we have a responsibility to ensure public money is well spent, which is why we have had to make this difficult decision”.

READ MORE: National Lottery explains why it pulled funding from ‘unsustainable’ Heartlands

The popular Red River Café, Wheal Play soft play centre, conference centre and meeting rooms will all close on January 31 but the adventure playground, gardens, independent shops and offices will remain open.

A visit to Heartlands this week proved why the decision has rocked the Camborne-Redruth area. There was a palpable sense of anger, shock and devastation among staff. Though there were signs why it has come to this – there were hardly any members of the public there.

Despite successful events like Geekfest and a renowned annual Bonfire Night firework display, there have long been grumblings that Heartlands never reached its potential. It could have been a vital centre of all things Kernow, a tin-burnished beacon of Cornish heritage and diaspora, but it has never really taken off.

An empty What\'s On sign tells a sorry tale at Heartlands (Pic: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

After the initial Live at Heartlands ten years ago – featuring everyone from Happy Mondays and Gang of Four to the Boomtown Rats and UB40 – there were hopes it could even be a major entertainment centre in an area of Cornwall which has largely been overlooked. There was nothing like it again.

That’s not to say it isn’t popular – the free adventure playground (the largest in Cornwall) and soft play centre are a lifeline for young families in a part of the Duchy that is known for being stricken by poverty, plus it has become an increasingly popular place to get married – who wouldn’t want wedding photos in front of that awe-inspiring Cornish totem?

The Register Office remains but without the rest of the facilities who knows what will happen?

I visited on Thursday morning – that empty What’s On sign sadly beckoning me onto the site where just a few dog walkers were milling through Heartlands’ unique mix of the modern and historic.

Children and their mums were already making their way into Wheal Play, one area of the site which still feels vibrant. I followed them in and met Dianne Willoughby, who has run the soft play area for the past three years. It’s fair to say she’s incredibly upset about the news, which took her unawares.

An emotional Dianne Willoughby, who runs the Wheal Play soft play centre, has been left devastated by the news that Heartlands will close (Pic: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

“It’s terrible that this is being taken away from people,” she said, gesturing to the kids having fun. “This is a lovely place to be for families, it’s safe and warm, and our regulars come back three or four times a week. Parents and guardians can relax here and know the children will have fun. It’s so sad – I’ve made so many friends here.”

Fighting back tears, she added: “I’m sorry, I’m getting emotional.”

Dianne and her two colleagues will now lose their jobs. “They feel exactly the same as me. It’s difficult to talk about. The locals are so sad about it. I will move on and find something else, but this is a really important place for the community.

“A lot of weddings and birthdays take place here. Some of the weddings have been planned years ahead and that’s now been stripped away for people. It’s heartbreaking.”

Dianne, who lives on the other side of the road from Heartlands, said she will be keen to see what happens with the site. “It’s too late to protest now or for them to do a U-turn. That is it. No one’s talking. We’re finding it hard to get answers.”

Heartlands at Pool pictured durting the week it was announced that much of the site will close. (Pic: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

A number of mums who regularly travel from elsewhere in Cornwall to use the play area – Amy, Deborah and Lara – said it was one of the best in mid Cornwall. “It’s so sad – it’s such a hub of the community.”

“There aren’t many things to do in Cornwall indoors when it’s raining when you have young children and there will be one less now,” said Deborah.

A spokesperson for the Heartlands Trust told me: “The situation that we have been pushed into is upsetting for our staff, our tenants, our local community. It is something that we have desperately been trying to avoid.”

Don’t let all this put you off visiting though. There are still businesses which need local support. One of those is the distinctive Kowsva, or The Cornish Place, a celebration of the Kernewek language and a brilliant place to buy Cornish books, T-shirts and even wrapping paper.

Emma Jenkin in the Kowsva shop which celebrates everything Cornish at Heartlands (Pic: Lee Trewhela / LDRS)

Emma Jenkin, of the Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek / Cornish Language Fellowship charity which runs the shop, said that footfall across Heartlands has become “pretty non-existent” and she feared that with the imminent closure of the café, members of the public will think the whole site has shut.

She added: “It’s a shame there weren’t more heritage-based events here. There is still the potential. There is a need for a cultural centre in Cornwall and Heartlands would be perfect.”