The Colliery Wheel at the Friends of the Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe and Acresford (ODA) Memorial Gardens has been taken away for refurbishment.

The Friends of the ODA Memorial Gardens are a Co-op local cause, supported by Co-op's Local Community Fund. If you are a Co-op member you can help support the Friends of the ODA and other Ashby causes just be doing your shopping. You can also get member discounts and offers.

Work started on site last month to enable the wheel to be removed - in readiness for a new location in the gardens.

The dwarf brick wall around the wheel and the concrete footings were constructed, it is understood, by apprentices from David Wilson Homes during the early 1990s. 

They had made an excellent job of the construction and it took some back breaking work by the volunteers to free the wheel ready for removal.

On August 22, at 7:30am, the wheel was safely lifted into the air, to be then fixed securely on to the back of a low loader for transport to a local shot blasting specialist for refurbishment. 

Cotton Transport & Sons Ltd of Church Gresley undertook the removal and transport of the wheel and with their expertise made a difficult job look easy.

The wheel has now been taken for a full refurb, including a shot blasting treatment and new paint work.

The new location will give the Wheel its own prominence in the garden, and become part of a fitting memorial marking the Parish's mining heritage.

Friends of the ODA Memorial gardens are working hard to reinvigorate the Parish Memorial Gardens in Donisthorpe, creating new spaces on the grounds to include a sensory garden and amphitheatre/outdoor classroom. 

The new areas will complement the Memorial Gardens and help retain its primary purpose as a place of remembrance in this focal part of the Parish.

The group are also looking to raise funds to help them achieve their goal, but have a long way to go yet.

They have been lucky to be selected for the Co-op Local Community Fund for the current year and are hoping to boost efforts through the scheme to begin the hard landscaping on site later in the year.

If you have a Co-op membership card, you can help by selecting their cause through the Co-op online HERE.

If you would like to be involved, can help the group in any way, or would like to know more about the project, please email: [email protected] for more information.