I started to clean up abandoned cave... then council took back keys

VOLUNTEER 'VERY ANGRY' OVER CHANGE OF HEART

- By GEORGE PALMER-SOADY

A VOLUNTEER has been “locked out” of abandoned Nottingham caves ten days after getting the green-light to look after them.

Campaigner Janine Tanner was given the keys to the Sneinton Hermitage cave by Nottingham City Council earlier this month.

The cave is what remains of a 16th-century area which used to contain houses, gardens, pubs and even a ballroom and was previously considered to be a popular tourist attraction.

But in recent years it has become visibly worse for wear, with the cave fenced off and hidden by overgrown branches.

After becoming aware of the caves’ deterioration, heritage campaigner Janine was given permission to maintain the structure and was handed the keys by the city council which maintains the city’s cave network.

That followed what Janine described as a “massive five-month goose chase” to discover who owned the keys to the gates, resulting in the council changing the padlocks to allow the campaigner and a group of other volunteers to maintain it.

However, only seven days after the Post was told about the move, on July 15, the city council reportedly changed the locks and took the keys back.