Land Trust and RIBA seek design and funding team for Cronton Colliery revamp

The Land Trust and RIBA Competitions have launched a search for a design and funding team to create a visitor destination and public open space at the former Cronton Colliery in Knowsley, Merseyside.

The competition is open to architects and architect-led multi-disciplinary design teams, and will happen in two phases. The first stage will be judged anonymously, after which shortlisted teams will be invited to present their designs and funding propositions at interview.

The Land Trust’s chief executive Euan Hall said: “The former Cronton Colliery is a fabulous space that has the very real potential to become a magnificent 21st century visitor destination for the North West.

“By working with RIBA on this we are hoping to change the way design teams create schemes of importance in the future. We believe that open spaces have the potential to be the catalyst for change and can impact far more than just the ‘environment’.

“The issue of long-term funding for new schemes is often overlooked but we are hoping that, through this process, we can go some way to changing that mind-set whilst providing a sensationally designed scheme for the local community and visitors to the site.”

The competition opens officially this week, and will run until the last week of March 2012. The closing date for Stage 1 submissions is 15^th February 2012, and more details can be found on www.thelandtrust.org.uk/community or www.architecture.com/competitions from Wednesday 14 December 2011.