Gary Cox, chairman of the Move The Miner Committee explains the significance of the statue to Kent's mining community.

The Miner's Statue was commissioned by the Central Electricity Generating Board, and was moved from its original site outside Richborough power station when the plant was decommissioned.

Each of Kent's mining communities had their suggestions for a new home for the statue, and eventually it was re-sited outside the National Coal Board's office in Dover, which is where it has remained ever since.

The statue is seen as a very important symbol of the hard work and sacrifices made by Kent's miners, and a group was formed to move the statue once more, to a more fitting setting.

The new site for the statue is on the Miners' Way - a trail of almost 30 miles which links all the former Kent coal mines, at the entrance to Fowlmead Country Park, the former spoil tip for nearby Betteshanger Colliery. The pit, the last of Kent's mines to close, ceased production in 1989.

It is hoped the statue will be in its new home before the second Miners' Festival which is to be held at Fowlmead on August bank holiday on 29 and 30 August, 2010.