Former quarry site donated to community interest company

Hanson has donated 61 acres of land at a restored sand and gravel quarry at Hope in Flintshire to the Park in the Past community interest company to establish the world’s first reconstruction of a Roman landscape and eco-system.

Plans have been drawn up to transform the Fagl Lane site into an Iron Age village, complete with a Roman fort. Park in the Past director Paul Hartson said: “This amazing gift from Hanson has given us a massive boost and puts us in a much stronger position to apply for grants to develop the project.

“We want to create an historical and environmental visitor attraction for the general public whilst also providing the potential for universities and schools to use the complex as a large open-air laboratory.”

The donation of land was made following an approach to Hanson CEO Patrick O’Shea by Lord Barry Jones, a local resident and supporter of the scheme. Lord Jones said the project had huge potential to generate both jobs and community interest in a relatively deprived area.