Cornwall Heartlands mining centre became unsustainable, says lottery

The Heartlands Trust said the attraction had been unable to cover its operating costs for some time

The National Lottery has revealed it pulled its funding for the mining world heritage centre in Cornwall because it had become "unsustainable".

Heartlands, in Pool, was unable to cover its operating costs, confirming on Friday its facilities would close this month.

The National Lottery Community Fund said it was a "difficult decision".

Heartlands, at the centre of a former mining area in Pool, was opened in 2012 with more than £20m in lottery funding.

The Heartlands Trust - the charity that runs the heritage centre - and Cornwall Council issued a joint statement on Friday that revealed the National Lottery had agreed with Cornwall Council not to release any further funds, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The statement said it had become apparent the attraction had been unable to cover its operating costs for some time and had become unsustainable.

The café, soft play, conference centre and meeting rooms would be closed by the end of January and the park, gardens, shops and offices would remain open, The Heartlands Trust charity said.

The National Lottery Community Fund, which provided the biggest financial contribution towards the running of Heartlands, has made a financial contribution towards the maintenance of the site.

The National Lottery Community Fund said it was disappointed by the closure

A spokesperson for the National Lottery Community Fund said: "We have a small endowment in place with Cornwall Council to support with maintenance at Heartlands and we have agreed with the council not to release any further funds.

"We are disappointed as we always want projects we have funded to be sustainable and successful for the community.

"However, we have a responsibility to ensure public money is well spent, which is why we have had to make this difficult decision."

The Heartlands Trust said on its website it would cease trading at the end of January and "would like to express our gratitude to everyone for their support over the past 12 years".

The joint statement from the trust and the council said: "Heartlands had never seen itself as a commercial operation but finance has always been precarious.

"Budget over-runs on the original build project meant vital units intended to provide rental streams were never built and intended developer contributions for playground maintenance were never received."