Florencecourt Visitor Centre RMGFH09
A NEW £300,000 visitor centre has opened at Florence Court.
Opened to the public less than two weeks ago the new centre will “transform” the visitor experience at the estate, according to National Trust Manager at Florence Court Jim Chestnutt.
Speaking to the Herald he explained that the investment is part of a new collaborative partnership with Forest Service.
“The new building is an investment of nearly £300,000 in total to upgrade the visitor facilities at the site and we’re talking about the whole site and what’s happening now is that the visitor centre will now form the focus for all visitor trips to Florence Court
“The Main car park now becomes what was the forestry car park so all visitors come up the drive and they turn off to the right into that very extensive range of car parking.
It’s fantastic because we had outgrown our car park infrastructure so we needed more space and now the visitor centre forms the hub where people make decisions about what they’re going to do.”
In addition to providing information for visitors the new centre has toilet facilities, a shop and will provide food. Complete with a biomass heater the centre is also geared towards the future with a focus on renewable energy.
“It’s incredible to see how people have reacted to it,” Mr Chestnutt continued.
“For Florence Court it’s fair to say this partnership with Forest Service will transform the visitor experience. The place feels different too. If you’re up by the house it feels quiet, because you don’t have cars around it, while you also feel there is so much more to do and to see. I hope this is the beginning of a sequence of developments in the years to come that will really make a big difference to what we can offer here.”
Work on the summer house at Florence Court, destroyed by fire is also well underway, with the thatching of the wooden structure set to commence at the start of September with completion due at the end of the month.
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