22/01/2019 - Permalink

Building work to begin on exciting new extension to the Visitor Centre at Severn Valley Country Park

Related topics: Community / Leisure, culture and heritage
An image of an artists impression of how the visitor centre at Severn Valley Country Park will look following the completion of the expansion works in June 2019.

An artists impression of how the Visitor Centre will look following the work

Shropshire Council’s outdoor partnerships team are making final preparations for work to begin on the exciting new extension to the Visitor Centre at Severn Valley Country Park.

The work, to be undertaken by the building firm Paveaways, is scheduled to begin on Wednesday 6 February 2019. The Visitor Centre itself will close to the public from Saturday 2 February 2019.

During the extension work, temporary café facilities will be in place offering take away drinks and snacks to visitors at weekends and during the school holidays. These facilities will be open by Saturday 16 February 2019 at the latest.

The temporary facilities will remain in place until the extension is completed and toilet facilities will be available at all times.

The new extension will feature a much larger interpretation space to tell visitors about the fascinating history and wildlife of Severn Valley Country Park.

An image of an artists impression of some of the new interpretation that will be in the visitor centre at Severn Valley Country Park following the expansion works.

New and improved interpretation of Severn Valley Country Park

The café will also be improved and will include a new ‘play zone’ for younger visitors and a comfortable snug area to sit and enjoy a drink in front of a roaring fire.

The new facilities should be open by June 2019, ahead of a busy summer of events at the park, and will create three full-time jobs, including a new catering manager.

Funding for the extension is the result of a successful grant application to the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under the Marches LEP Tourism Infrastructure priority. The total cost of the project will be around £411,000, of which £295,839, will be grant-funded.

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Consultancy based at WWT Slimbridge have been appointed to design and build the new Visitor Centre. The team have experience of designing visitor centres on country parks all around the world.

Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture and leisure, said:

“Severn Valley Country Park is well-loved by locals and visitors alike. The team at Shropshire Council are working hard to bring the park into a cost-neutral position. The new Visitor Centre will enable the staff and volunteers to deliver more top quality public events and enhance the visitor experience to safeguard the future of this wonderful facility.”

Tina Woodward, local Shropshire Councillor for Alveley and Claverley, said:

“The Visitor Centre opened in 1992 following the closure of Alveley and Highley collieries. With the support of the Rural Development Programme, this project will update the visitor welcome facilities and interpretation to reflect the parks position as a top-class tourist destination and Green Flag award-winning site.”

Dave Tremellen, local Shropshire Councillor for Highley, said:

“The natural and cultural heritage of Severn Valley Country Park is extremely rich. This is an amazing opportunity to upgrade the visitor centre and create an amazing space in which to share stories of local wildlife and history with visitors of all ages, schoolchildren and groups.”

Shropshire Council manages the third largest Rights of Way network in the country; 5,600km, which is the same distance as Shrewsbury to New York, as well as around 13,000 ha of publically accessible parks, heritage sites and nature reserves.

For more information about Shropshire’s Great Outdoors, visit the website.