Funding for new Whittlesey heritage centre and walk approved

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Board on Wednesday approved more than £700,000 for both schemes.

The vast majority - £500,000 - will go on the heritage centre.

This will be a “relatively modest building” which “will include one or more education spaces or classrooms, flexible space to incorporate small exhibitions and indoor events, a coffee shop, toilets, and office and storage space suitable for staff and volunteers”.

A further £218,169 will create a heritage walk which will “provide a distinctive offer to encourage the exploration of this historic Fenland town. The route will include historic landmarks and provide insight into the history and heritage of the town in addition to key information regarding bus stop locations, access to Whittlesea Railway Station and the National Cycling Network Route 63 which runs through the town”.

The new centre is due to be located adjacent to King’s Dyke Nature Reserve and will “tell the story of Whittlesey from Bronze Age to present day”.

The site is particularly relevant because it is close to the original location for Must Farm - ‘Britain’s Pompeii’ - where Bronze Age boats and numerous historical artefacts have been discovered.

It is anticipated that the new heritage centre will provide around 50 events per year, making a loss in its first year before later becoming financially viable as the number of visitors increases.

Whittlesey has also recently received £56,500 from the combined authority - the county’s mayoral authority - to install new interactive flooding signs.

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer said: “Investment in our market towns is the key to our continued prosperity and the combined authority is in the right position to deliver it.

“Strung throughout the county, our market towns provide economic and social hubs for very substantial rural populations. I want all communities in Cambridgeshire to thrive and that means ensuring these much-loved centres are equipped for the future – dynamic go-to destinations for business and pleasure, properly linked in by road, rail and digital, and attractive to residents, visitors, and new businesses alike.”

Overall, £1.4 million of funding for Fenland’s market towns was approved today.

This includes £92,000 “to make Chatteris town centre more attractive, improving the appearance of street furniture and enabling refurbishment works to help businesses recover post Covid-19”.

Meanwhile, the combined authority board has also agreed funds to start construction at Manea and March railway stations and has set the end date for delivery.

At the virtual meeting today, the board unanimously agreed to put forward £1.2 million from the budget to get procurement and contracts under way.

Manea Station Car Park building works will start in February and finish by May 2021. The March Station Car Park and Platform 1 building works will also begin in February and be completed by December.