July saw the installation of four stone gateway features as part of the Trimdon Gateway’s Project.
The project started in 2006 when the Joint Trimdon Regeneration Partnership approached Groundwork East Durham looking to improve the gateways to the four Trimdon villages.
Working closely with the group, a scheme was drawn up which saw a mix of stone entrance features and colourful gateway planting.
A key aim of the project was to emphasise the local distinctiveness of each village through
stone entrance markers designed by the community. After looking at the work of several artists, the Partnership chose stonemason David Edwick to work with the community and
develop designs for the gateway features.
Following a lengthy and imaginative consultation process, designs were presented to the partnership and received positively. Trimdon Village was represented by the Durham Argus Butterfly, a rare species found on the Trimdon’s magnesium limestone escarpment and the Church of St Mary’s, the beautiful church on the Green. The Colliery opted for a depiction of the Coffee Pot engine famously used on Horse Close Lane to transport coal from the pit. Finally, the Grange chose a forward looking design that used their resident wild swans to emphasise the increasing natural beauty of their village and the changes that had taken place since the demise of the coal industry.
To finish the project Groundwork will add complementary planting to all gateway features and ten other sites throughout the villages. This will take place in Autumn 2007.
Funding for the project was provided by Sedgefield Borough Council, Durham County Council’s Urban and Rural Renaissance Fund and the County Durham Foundation.
If you would like more details please contact Stephen Armstrong, Groundwork East
Durham on 0191 527 3333. | 
