Cave pod is lift to big cash bid

Imagine being taken back in time to an underground world where miners painstakingly chiselled away thousands of tonnes of limestone by hand.

But suddenly your journey is jolted back into the 21st Century when you step into a futuristic capsule and in 20 seconds zoom back up to the surface.

“People will travel into the caverns on canal boats, so they will see how slowly the miners had to go before they could even start work,” says Roger Morgan, engineer for the Strata Project.

“After their tour of the caves they will step into a capsule, similar to ones seen on the London Eye, and within 20 seconds they will be transported from the mines to the surface.

“The inclined lift will see people travelling at 35 degrees inside a six-metre diameter tunnel.

“The only thing similar to it is in Italy, but that is above ground.

“We haven’t been able to find one in the world which is below ground so it will be a totally unique experience for people.”We are inspired by the Victorian Engineers as they were at the forefront of technology - people are often astonished by what they achieved.

“However, we want people to look back at engineering in the 21st century and be just as proud.

“This is one of the most exciting engineering projects in the UK and it is totally supported by the Priory and Wrens Nest communities.

“We are hoping it will be done by the end of 2012 as it will take around two years to design and up to four years to construct.” Plans to open up the underground network of canals and limestone mines are part of a three-pronged Black Country bid to secure money from the Big Lottery fund.

The bid, called A Million People: Black Country as an Urban Park, was shortlisted to battle it out against three rival projects for the cash in an ITV programme to be screened next month.

Roger, aged 54, says attitudes towards the limestone caverns and Seven Sisters mines have changed in the last few years. A decision to fill in the caves was reluctantly taken in 2004 over fears that someone could be seriously hurt or killed by falling rocks and the world’s largest canal basin lay sealed off and silent.

Engineers were stunned when they discovered the limestone mines and canals were still intact and are now ready to reveal their secrets.

“The project to open up the mines started two years ago,” says Roger. “There are several elements to the project as well as the lift, which will go from the Step Shaft mine up to the Seven Sisters. The plans will also see the refurbishing of one of the oldest canal tunnels in existence.

“There will also be more signs and better pathways at the nature reserve. There has been a lot of talk recently about the Olympic Stadium and worries that it will go over budget. However, our funding bid allows for risk management so the ‘what if’ scenarios and unforeseen circumstances are taken care of.

“A lot of people in the UK have heard about Sherwood Forest and the Eden Project but their faces go blank when they are told about Dudley.

“This is a chance for us to put the Black Country on the map and show the rest of the country that not only do we have a rich past, but an exciting future.”