The heritage centre site has brought so much benefit and enjoyment to so many people, but there is much more potential to be unlocked. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a much larger heritage display space, a local history library and study centre, and to be able to host school visits, so our younger generation are able to learn about their local history, ecology and the very special geological history of the Charnwood Forest?
Over the past 18 months we have been developing plans for a new building on the site which will satisfy all these desires and more! Working with Leicester and Loughborough Universities, local schools, the County Council’s Landscape Partnership, and other stake holders, we have created our Discovery Project.
The building is designed externally with an appearance to inspire learning and to fit seamlessly into its surroundings.
The project will cost £850,000 and we will be submitting a funding application to the Heritage Lottery Fund in February. A planning application will be submitted in April. If funding and planning are successful we would hope to have the building completed and open to the public by summer 2020.
Site map showing discovery building
On the ground floor the building will provide three times more display space than we have at present.
Cutting edge technology will be utilized to present information as effectively as possible and to capture the imagination of general visitors and school children, ensuring that what they see and learn leaves a lasting impression.
Discovery Building ground floor plan
Discovery Building ground floor perspective
On the first floor there will be a flexible space that can be used as a classroom for school visits, a lecture theatre, an exhibition area, or it may be hired for business meetings and seminars.
The local history library will house historical collections related to the local area. These may used for research in the adjacent study centre.
Discovery Building first floor plan
Discovery Building first floor perspective
To get a better idea of what the building will look like we have put together a short virtual tour of the Discovery Building which can be viewed below.
Your feedback, and suggestions are very important to us. You can find out much more about the new building and how it will be used by visiting the heritage centre from January 20th until February 4th. The plans will be on display during this period and our volunteers will be on hand at most times to explain and answer questions. For the duration of the consultation period, Tarmac’s “Pod” with be making a visit to our Railway Museum. This virtual quarry experience will give visitors a taste of the ways technology will be used in the new Discovery Building.
So please email discovery.comments@heritage-centre.co.uk with any comments or suggestions you have, or complete the contact form below.
Your response to our discovery project was truly outstanding. A total of 621 people took the time to respond to the consultation. At times people were queuing to talk to our volunteers in Granite’s.
We will be submitting our application to the Heritage Lottery Fund at the end of February. Fingers crossed for a successful outcome. We will keep you informed of progress.
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