Plan for £1.8m education centre

A new information and education centre costing £1.8 million is planned for Wyre Forest to cater for a surge of visitors.

Every year more than 300,000 people are visiting the current discovery centre, which is being run by the Forestry Commission at Callow Hill, near Bewdley.

The Wyre Forest's 6,500 acres is all that survives of a wood that once stretched along the Severn Valley from Worcester to Bridgnorth.

Plans for the Gateway to the Wyre centre have gone to Wyre Forest District Council.

It has had a £150,000 development grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and, if given the go- ahead, will be awarded a further £1.8 million.

It is hoped work on the centre – to be the "first stop for information" for visitors – could start in September.

Construction time may be between 20 and 36 weeks.

It will provide education facilities, such as a classroom in the forest, for Midlands pupils. There will be information displays about flora and fauna and the sounds of birdsong or smells of the woodland.

Workshops in traditional skills and practices proposed include orchard management and seed identification.

The centre, including energy-saving features such as solar panels, will open evenings and weekends for volunteer groups and community events.

Project manager, Gail Atkinson, said: "By continuing to use the site as a honey pot on the edge of the national nature reserve, future generations will enjoy and increase their appreciation for this special woodland landscape.

"If we're going to protect woodland in the longer-term, we need to ensure people understand and value them."

It is part of the £3 million Grow with Wyre project aiming to enhance and protect the Wyre Forest for future generations. Funding has also come from the SITA Trust for butterfly project Back to Orange and GrantScape.