Former Midlothian coal pit turned mining museum to be transformed into renewable energy hub

A 131-year-old former coal-fired ‘super-pit’ turned museum in Midlothian is to be transformed into a renewable energy hub.

Plans have been disclosed to transform the former Lady Victoria Colliery at Newtongrange into a hub that will provide green electricity for the local community.

After closing in the 1980s, after almost 90 years of operation, the attraction was then preserved as Scotland’s National Mining Museum.

Solar panels will now be installed on the roofs of colliery buildings, with battery storage and electric vehicle charging.

Once operational, the hub will cut energy bills and restore the colliery’s 1894 winding engine, which they say will safeguard specialist mechanical skills.

Around £450,000 in funding is now being sought from investors to help pay for the transformation.

Investment is being sought for the project Rob McDougall via Supplied

Unveiling the first concept designs, Henry McLeish, chair of National Mining Museum Scotland, said: “As a legacy of an industry that powered the Industrial Revolution and shaped the Scotland we know today, the National Mining Museum Scotland has long been a beacon of innovation and engineering excellence.

“It feels only right that we continue that legacy in everything we do.

“With the need for renewable energy becoming ever more urgent, and the specialist mechanical skills once needed to power our site disappearing, we’ve been working closely with engineers, architects and pioneers to explore how we can best transform our Museum to meet the needs of future generations.

“We’re thrilled to share some of those proposals today, but of course, they will only become a reality if we can secure sufficient early investment.

“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us so far and would welcome conversations with anyone interested in helping drive regeneration for years to come.”

Conservation engineer Jim Mitchell of JPS Restoration, who is currently working on the restoration of the RRS Discovery in Dundee, said: “We are entering a critical period in large object conservation, where traditional skills are rapidly disappearing.

“The time to address this unique piece of engineering history is now, through the restoration of the National Mining Museum Scotland’s winding engine at Lady Victoria Colliery.

“We must use the opportunity to train others. In many ways this is almost as important as saving the engine itself. I hope the Museum will secure the funding needed to create this immersive training opportunity for a new generation of technicians who will ensure our industrial heritage is preserved intelligently and skilfully.”

Supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) the redevelopment will see the transformation of the Boiler House, an area never-before-seen by most visitors, into a new immersive ‘arrested decay’ visitor experience.

Gordon Barr, development manager (Scotland) at AHF, said: “The Architectural Heritage Fund exists to help communities find enterprising ways to revitalise the old buildings they love, so it is incredibly exciting to be able to support these proposals being developed.

“Like the historic boilers, I’m all fired up to see these exciting plans coming together for a nationally important Industrial heritage site.

“The scheme shows an exciting balance being struck between different spaces in the museum, allowing visitors to experience some of the site in its current state of arrested decay, telling the continuing story of its hard-working life, as well as – crucially – creating new usable and environmentally sustainable spaces for visitors and the community to use into the future as well.”