Heartlands site shut down due to ‘incidents’

The former site of Cornwall’s iconic mining heritage attraction is now said to be plagued by increasing problems. Staff at a nearby homeless facility said rough sleepers were causing an “increasing number of incidents” at Heartlands.

The statement came after workers at Chi Winder in Dudnance Lane in Pool ran to the rescue after a row – believed to have involved a stabbing – left two people injured. The incident was so serious that several police officers were said to have attended and the Cornwall Air Ambulance landed.

Two men were taken to hospital and two arrested after police were called to the scene on Tuesday afternoon (July 17). One suffered head and hand injuries and a second man suffered a neck injury. The men are believed to be known to each other, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

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According to Coastline Housing, which runs the Chi Winder Day Centre, which provides services for the local homeless and others in need, this was just the latest incident as disused parts of the vast Heartlands site are plagued by problems. A Coastline spokesman said: “Following an incident at the Heartlands site, our staff at Chi Winder went to provide first aid before the emergency services arrived.

“Neither of the men are residents of Chi Winder. As we are a homelessness charity, we were able to provide replacement clothing to one of the men involved.

“This appears to be one of a number of recent increasing incidents of street homeless congregating in disused parts of the Heartlands site. We have announced the Homeless Outreach team and we always welcome the opportunity to work on community safety with local groups and partner organizations. “

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The full police statement after the latest incident said: “Police were called at 3.25pm ​​on Tuesday July 16 to reports of an assault in Dudnance Lane, Pool. An altercation was reported between two males. One man suffered injuries to a hand and head A second man suffered a neck injury.

“Both men, who are believed to know each other, were taken to hospital for treatment and later released. A 33-year-old man from the Camborne area and a 42-year-old man of no fixed abode were arrested. under the suspicion of aggression, following the investigations, both were released, without any further measures being taken”.

The Heartlands Trust, which managed the £35m visitor attraction it leased from Cornwall Council, which owns the Robinson’s Shaft site of the former South Crofty mine, said in January it could no longer cover the costs operational of such a large. the site, despite attracting around 360,000 people each year keen to learn about Cornwall’s mining culture and heritage.

Heartlands initially received £22 million from the Big Lottery Fund, the largest grant it had awarded to a single project in England at the time, with site owner Cornwall Council and the European Union also providing funding. The National Lottery Community Fund, which was the attraction’s biggest benefactor, revealed it had withdrawn its funding, saying Heartlands had become unsustainable and “we have a responsibility to make sure public money is well spent, which is why we had to let’s do this. difficult decision”.

The popular Red River Café, Wheal Play, conference center and meeting rooms closed on January 31, but the adventure playground, gardens, independent shops and offices remained open. Traders there told CornwallLive of their shock, anger and grief.

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