A FORMER brickworks and pit in County Durham is to be designated today as a special site for wildlife.

Cornsay Colliery will be approved as a Local Nature Reserve by English Nature during a free event to celebrate the start of its transformation.

The family fun day includes guided walks, musicians, presentations by local schools, crafts, face painting and a village fete.

Durham County Council's woodlands and wildlife project and Durham Wildlife Trust's Hedleyhope Fell project have worked closely with the local community to improve the area for people and wildlife.

Both projects have received grants for these improvements from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Keith Bartlett, Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) regional manager for the North-East said: "It is fantastic to see the colliery officially recognised as such an important part of the region's natural heritage.

"HLF is very happy to be supporting the Mineral Valleys Project; this is an important milestone in its work to conserve and open up Durham's vibrant green spaces for everyone to enjoy."

Footpaths in the Steeleyhill Plantation have been improved and the old 'yellow brick road' running through the woodlands has been restored.

The plantation will have conifers thinned in the autumn to favour the growth of native oak trees in the woodlands. New oak trees will be planted this autumn on meadows where three streets of colliery housing used to stand. A sculpture is planned for the entrance to the woods reflecting its industrial past.

Cornsay Colliery is one of 20 former colliery sites in west County Durham that are being transformed by the Woodlands and Wildlife initiative.