what is now known as Bobber's Mill. Some four years later a similar scheme was introduced to attract miners from other worked-out mines in the North East of England, including Gateshead. According to residents, special meetings were arranged so that workers already established could understand, for safety reasons, the dialect, and vice versa, of the newcomers. The population of the village rose from about 700 to over 5,000 within a few years. In 1960, a branch railway was extended from the Nottingham–Grantham line across the River Trent past Radcliffe on Trent to the colliery. The line closed when the pit closed in 1993. The koepe towers at the pit head were considered very modern and distinctive compared with other pit-head winding-gear towers. In a departure from traditional miners' working conditions, face workers had extensive modern changing and shower facilities, which meant they could leave as clean as they entered. The local economy was devastated by the mine's closure in 1993–94, which caused much bitterness. Like most Nottinghamshire mines, Cotgrave had continued working through the National Union of Mineworkers-declared 1984–85 miners' strike. Many took the view that this allegiance to the then Conservative government was betrayed. On its closure, it was reported that the seams had millions of tons of coal reserves but these were of insufficient quality. Local residents, however, recount that the mine was shut because of geological faults, the encounter of a subterranean stream and subsequent flood problems, and the growing remoteness of the seam face from the shaft, which drastically increased the cost of bringing the coal to the surface. The shafts were filled with concrete on closure and all associated buildings demolished. The local economy has improved considerably as Cotgrave is surrounded by an affluent area with low unemployment. Many of the mineworkers who hailed from the North East stayed in Cotgrave, built homes and raised families. Amenities There is a shopping parade called the Precinct, built at the same time as the large housing estates were developed, with a Co-op, a library, fish and chip shop, Chinese and kebab take-aways, other retailers, and a medical centre. This was regenerated in 2017–2020, with the demolition of several old buildings, the erection of new facades on some shops, and construction of a multi-service centre that now holds the library, medical practice, pharmacy and police station, as well as office space. A new children's play area, an expanded