New visitors centre
The current visitors centre is constructed from old portacabins and was never designed to be a permanent structure. The structure of the building has a poor visual appearence and does not provide the facilities needed to cater for an increased number of visitors. The visitor centre needs to attract schools, mountain bikers, corporate users and people from outside the surrounding area in to Reddish Vale. There is a lack of room for a café, meeting room (for training and education) and an area to display the positive aspects of the Vale
The new building will be a modern design, designed to blend in with a woodland environment. It will offer all the facilities currently missing within the park. These facilities will include:
- A café, with kitchen, to cater for all the new visitors
- A large training room to be used by schools to study the nature and environmental aspects of the Vale. With issues surrounding global warming it is important to highlight the need for woodlands.The training room will also be used by the mountain bike club to run training sessions for the youth and adults of the area. There is a very good centre in Cairngorms National Park currently providing excellent training. The large training room could also be used to host conferences and other events including children's parties, shows and other displays.
- A bike hire facility to encourage all levels of ability to take up this healthy activity. With the TPT (Trans Pennine Trail) running through the Vale a variety of rides could be offered to cater to all tastes from beginner to extreme MTB riding.
- An information centre to inform all the new visitors about guided tours, MTB'ing routes, nature and general information on the Vale eg. the history of the vale, a geology tour.
Nearly all of the above features will provide an income for Reddish Vale to maintain and promote itself. In addition, it is crucial to recognise that the entire project will have noticeable social and economical benefits for the sorrounding areas of Reddish, Brinnington and Denton.
The location of the new visitor centre will be decided by Stockport Council and the Friends of Reddish Vale Group (FoRV).
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