Campaigner takes on restoration of historic caves

Work is under way to restore caves in Nottingham which had become neglected and overgrown.

Sneinton Hermitage is what remains of a row of houses, gardens, pubs and a ballroom which were cut into the soft stone of a cliff.

But it was closed for health reasons, fenced off for years and was described as being in a "heartbreaking" state last month.

However, heritage campaigner Janine Tanner has now agreed to take on the maintenance of the caves. She said: "To have the keys to another really important part of [Nottingham's] history is wonderful."

Ms Tanner is an active campaigner for retaining the heritage of Nottingham buildings.

She has previously organised an exhibition to mark 125 years of Victoria Station and currently is spearheading the partial restoration of Long Stairs - a survivor of Nottingham's once numerous medieval walkways.

Ms Tanner said following the complaints about the condition of the hermitage, the council cleared much of the vegetation from the area.

"I then asked could I maintain them and they said yes," she added. "They gave me the key and a green light to work on them."

"It means a lot because I am so passionate about Nottingham's history.

"So to have the keys to another really important part of that history is wonderful.

"It means people who live here or come here will be able to see the caves, know they are being looked after."

Ms Tanner and other volunteers have already swept out litter and broken glass, but have an ambition to open up the deeper caves to the public.

She said: "The sandstone does break off so we would only be able to let people in on supervised open days, but for now at least the caves have been cleaned up."

Resident Kathryn Cooper, who helped raise the issue of the caves, said: "I feel the caves are in safe hands. I think the community is really touched she did this."

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