An RSPB-led consortium will be hosting a drop-in session on Monday, 25th July, from 5-8 pm, at Edwinstowe Village Hall, to showcase plans for the proposed new Sherwood Forest visitor centre at Forest Corner.

The session will offer an opportunity for anyone interested to view plans for the new facility, prior to the planning application submission later in the summer. A full consultation as part of the Newark and Sherwood District Council’s planning process will take place at a later date.

The consortium led by the RSPB successfully won a bid in August last year as part of a procurement process organised by Nottinghamshire County Council to design and build the new centre and manage Sherwood Forest Country Park from early 2018.

If approved, the proposed work would see a more modern facility built at a new site close to Edwinstowe at Forest Corner. This would be followed by the removal of the current 1970’s visitor centre, and that site would then be returned to nature. Sherwood Forest Fun Park, a fairground currently based at Forest Corner, would also move to an alternative location at Naish’s Field, on land owned by the county council.

The session on 25th July will be led by Ross Frazer, RSPB Project Manager, and the architects for the new visitor centre, JDDK.

Holly Booker, new RSPB visitor operations officer, has also been appointed to support the Sherwood project. The RSPB-led consortium will also have the plans on display for public view during the Robin Hood Festival, from 1 – 7 August.

Ross Frazer said: “We would like to welcome anyone interested in our plans for the new visitor centre to come along on 25 July. We are very excited about this project and the opportunities it will give us to further promote Robin Hood, continue to protect local wildlife, and continue to preserve this historic country park for future generations.”

Councillor John Knight, Committee Chairman for Culture, at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “It is a good opportunity for local communities to have the chance to see these plans before the RSPB-led consortium submits its planning application to Newark and Sherwood District Council.”