A PROPOSAL to house a permanent miners' memorial on a re-developed former colliery and cokeworks site has won widespread support.

Lambton and Houghton Banner group has called for some form of tribute to the many miners killed or injured working at the long-closed Lambton D Pit and Lambton Cokeworks.

Following the group's success in raising £20,000 to restore the miners' lodge banners for the D Pit and nearby Houghton Colliery last year, they turned their attention to the memorial.

The restored pit site, spanning the Durham/Sunderland county boundary between Burnmoor and Shiney Row, is to be re-developed, including plans for 350 houses and a stretch of a new road which would link Washington and Houghton-le-Spring.

But before work begins, the campaign group hopes to finalise plans for the memorial to be situated somewhere on the site.

To assess the level of interest, members staged a meeting, attended by representatives of several organisations, at Burnmoor Cricket Club at the weekend.

Representatives of development partners, English Partnerships, the Coalfield Regeneration Trust, Sunderland City Council, landscape agents and residents from neighbouring communities all gave their backing for the memorial.

Group secretary Pat Simmons said she was delighted that the idea appeared to have universal support.

She said: "I'm so glad we've been able to get permission.

"There's still a lot to be done, and it could be three years before it materialises, but at least everyone seems supportive."

Sculptor Colin Wilbourn, who attended the meeting, has agreed to produce sketches of possible memorials.

Mrs Simmons said: "I think everyone is aware of some of Colin's work around the North-East and he did the sculpture at the miners' memorial garden at the nearby Herrington Country Park, so we're all eager to see what he will come up with.

"There are a lot of miners' lamp and pit wheel memorials dotted around and I think we would like to go for something slightly different, maybe in the form of a carved working miner."

Mrs Simmons said letters of support had been received from local MP Fraser Kemp, miners' champion and former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn and figures from the National Union of Mineworkers.

Details of the next meeting, also to be staged at the cricket club, will be announced in coming weeks.