Hadrian’s Wall new £11.2 million visitor centre gets green light
Plans for The Sill, an £11.2 million visitor centre that will replace the existing 1960s centre at Hadrian’s Wall has been given the go-ahead.
The Sill, Northumberland
The Sill development phase has been driven forward by lead partners Northumberland National Park Authority and YHA (England and Wales), supported by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The new visitor centre is expected to receive over 100,000 visitors each year bringing in almost £3 million to the area as well as 117 new jobs.
The Sill, Northumberland
Designs for The Sill were created by Architects’ Jane Darbyshire and David Kendall (JDDK), with Glen Kemp commissioned as Landscape Architects and Bright 3D designing the Interpretative space. The rest of the design team is made up of Gardiner & Theobald LLP as Project Managers/QS, Halcrow Group Ltd as Building Services and Sustainability consultants and Patrick Parsons as Civil and Structural Engineers. Cundall have acted as planning consultants throughout the process.
Consultation has played a huge part in a participative design process, with over 1,700 members of the public sharing their ideas and feedback. The resulting Sill design is both sympathetic to the World Heritage Site landscape and forward-thinking in its vision. Its inspirational plans encompass an educational and training facility that will open doors to the landscape, far above and beyond the current offer – including an expansive activity programme covering the whole of the National Park and further afield.
Northumberland National Park Authority Chairman Cllr John Riddle, commented: “We are delighted plans for The Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre can now move forward, as the Department for Communities and Local Government have confirmed that the Local Planning Authority can issue the planning approval.
“The long term gains of the project include economic growth and job creation which will offer a step-change benefit for the whole of the North East and then there are the benefits you just cannot put a price on – including the impact the project will have on young people from a training and educational perspective.”
The Sill team now looks to push on to achieve £3m match funding needed as well as submitting its bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the remaining £6.9m, with an outcome expected early 2015.
