We visited a friendly former mining village in Staffordshire full of community spirit where locals feel part of one big family

We headed to Chase Terrace, a suburb of Burntwood on a lovely, warm and sunny August afternoon, and we found a peaceful place full of friendly faces and happy stories.

Founded in the 1860s during the height of the industrial revolution, it was established as a coal mining village due to the large number of pits in the local area, and by 1884 the Chase Terrace area had a population of nearly 2,000 residents.

The last mine in Chase Terrace closed in 1959, but between 1961 and 1971 the population nearly doubled as the nearby town of Burntwood became an overspill area for the people from Birmingham and the Black Country.

Following the closure of the coal mines and the decline in industry, Chase Terrace became a residential area for Burntwood, and now forms the core part of the town centre as one of the four former mining villages of Burntwood alongside Boney Hay, Chasetown and Burntwood itself.

Our first port of call was a local business that has been serving the people of Chase Terrace for the best part of two decades.

Tracey's Barbershop on Rugeley Road has been a key part of the suburb for 17 years after being set up by owner Tracey Seal, who still runs the show today.

"I'd like to try and play a part [in the local community]," Tracey said. "[The people are] friendly, a laugh and like one big family.

"There are a lot [of characters in the area], but as the saying goes, 'what gets said in the barbershop stays in the barbershop'."

Just down the road from the barbershop we bumped into Molly Peach, a young lady who was getting stuck into some house renovation work with her family.

Having lived in Chase Terrace for two years, Molly explained to us how the suburb's proximity to local attractions and amenities played a big part in her settling quickly in the area, and pushed her to decide to make her new house a home.

"I like the sense of community here, it feels like quite a nice place to live," she began. "I chat to my neighbours and things like that, I go to my local gym and it's a nice area.

"We're close to Cannock Chase and some other nice green areas which again makes it a nice, friendly place to live."

After finishing our chat with Molly and wishing her well with her renovation work we went to look for one of the green areas in Chase Terrace that we had been told about.

The obvious place to head seemed to be Chase Terrace Park, and upon arrival we got speaking to two ladies sitting enjoying the weather with their dogs.

"We love to sit here because different people go by and they're all friendly and nice," said Gill Court, who has lived in Chase Terrace all of her life.. 

Her friend Pam Hawkins added: "Even if you've not met them before - obviously the dogs help - but everyone is lovely. One of our friends has just taken us to Morrisons, and it's things like that, we all do things for each other here. I think that's true with most of Chase Terrace.

"Most of the dogs around here, 99.9 per cent of them, are nice dogs, and they're very sociable."