PLANS HAVE have been approved by Cheshire West and Chester Council for a complete transformation of the Anderton Boat Lift Visitor Centre.
As Canal & River Trust maintain that the centre as it is runs at a loss, Janet Friend reports.
Re-sited
The plans mean that the existing reception, shop and café will be re-sited and the café balcony, that give views over the Weaver, will be extended.
There will also be a new education and events area that will accommodate up to 100 people, which will replace the marquee, it being an extension to the existing building that will increase the current ground floor to allow for events, meetings, and conferences fully served from the existing kitchen and toilets. Image by Buttress Architects.
The trust tells that the current visitor centre is unsustainable, with the centre running at a loss, but improved facilities will help secure the future for the historic site.
To help with the cost of this massive redevelopment, the planning application shows there are plans to apply for National Lottery Heritage Funding to help, and if approved, work could start later this year. It has to start within three years otherwise the planning permission will cease.
Mural will stay
A condition includes the preservation and reinstatement of a the painted mural in its current position once the work is completed.
For the future there are plans for the construction of a new education cabin, concession cabin, the replacement of the existing toilets with a new permanent toilet cabin, and a scheme of new play equipment and interpretation.
There has been no intimation of the overall cost.