Ribble Discovery Centre renovations.
Things are moving rapidly at the Ribble Discovery Centre (RDC). The contractors have now moved in and the internal walls are down already. The suspended ceiling is also gone exposing the original roof beams. It is deemed that these will remain on view, albeit I hoping the dangling cobwebs will be removed! The new office has taken shape, it's much more spacious and warmer than the old one.
Last week it was great to meet with Alison Butterworth from Radio Lancashire and explain what's going on and just how exciting it is to be part of these major renovations works. You can tune in here , the feature starts 24:20 minutes in.
In other Fairhaven Lake news a female scaup was observed on the lake last week, in with the tufted ducks. Scaup like tufted ducks are diving ducks, probably explaining why this one has allied itself to them. Keep your eye out for it and if it's spotted again then please let us know.
Twitter @RSPB_Ribble
Facebook @RSPB Ribble Estuary
The RSPB building known as the "pagoda building" or Ribble Discovery Centre was the original boathouse, it was utilised by the RSPB in 1997, delivering outdoor education for visiting schools and as a retail space and visitor centre. The renovated pagoda building will become the "Welcome Hub" of the rejuvenated Fairhaven Lake site, housing a larger RSPB shop and interactive visitor centre, along with friendly and knowledgeable volunteers and staff.
New informative and eye-catching site interpretation is being created along with other exciting developments such as a 360 degree rotating kiosk and a free downloadable app packed with information about the area.
After a hugely successful 2019 with visiting school numbers on the up we were looking forward to boosting this further this year, however with Covid hitting hard, all school visits were cancelled from March.
With the new development, the classroom for visiting schools will be located in a purpose-built classroom within the Isaac Dixon boathouse, on the edge of the lake. The boathouse will also offer watersports sessions to schools and groups and there will be ample toilet and shower facilities, which will make a huge difference to our school visits.
With expected completion of the buildings set for spring 2021 it will be perfect timing as we are hoping to be able to welcome educational visits back to the site at that time. We are currently taking bookings from April onwards and have already received a number of booking enquiries and requests, which is really encouraging.
For more information about school visits please click here.
The Ribble Discovery Centre renovation is just part of the Fairhaven HLF project. Supported through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund, the project aims to conserve and restore Fairhaven’s heritage buildings and landscape, improve the lake’s infrastructure and water quality, and provide an exciting new programme of events.
The restoration objectives focus on 4 key elements; buildings, landscape, lake and activity.
Key features of building works include:
Key features of the landscape works include:
Key features of the lake works include:
Key features of the Activity and Interpretation include:
The project is looking for volunteers to support a wide range of activity. For more information contact Julie.vale@fylde.gov.uk
You can follow the projects progress with details of events on Twitter with @Fairhaven HLF and on Facebook through the Friends of Fairhaven Lake page, and you can download the landscape masterplan here.