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Northleach NewsNew Lease of Life For Cotswold Heritage CentreThe Cotswold Heritage Centre is to be given a new lease of life after the District Council today agreed to invest £150,000 in its future.
The Cotswolds Conservation Board, already based in the old police house, will move into larger offices in the heart of the building. The Board is also planning to create an interpretive display on the heritage of the Cotswolds for the public part of the Centre. A café – which will open on a trial basis and be run by a local business ¬¬ ¬- will be situated in the glazed south gallery, formerly the museum shop. It is hoped it will attract passing trade on the Fosseway and encourage customers to explore Northleach. It will also display information about other visitor attractions in the Cotswolds. Customers will be able to see the courtroom on the way into the café, while outside they will be able to view agricultural implements and waggons, including part of the Lloyd-Baker collection in an open storage area. Councillor David Fowles, Portfolioholder for Sport and Culture, said: “This is a very positive move by the Council to bring an historic building back into public use after listening to the wishes of local people. “The Centre was closed by a previous administration as it cost the Council more than £180,000 per year to run as museum. “However, we have come up with a scheme for the Centre which is more cost-effective than simply continuing to mothball the building. “We will be leasing improved facilities to the Conservation Board and receiving a percentage of the café’s turnover once it reaches an agreed level. We also plan to let the old police house to a commercial tenant. “We are confident that this year-long experiment will bring a new lease of life to the building, and will further reduce the burden on Council Tax payers.” The Council is to invest £150,000 from its capital budget under its Invest to Save scheme to prepare the building for opening in April next year - including refurbishing rooms for the Conservation Board's new offices, cleaning and redecorating the courtroom, upgrading the kitchen and heating system in the café area and forming an open storage area in the waggon sheds to the rear. The north gallery and the cell block will remain mothballed for the immediate future. Councillor Fowles
added: “This experiment is a huge step forward and underlines Cotswold
District Council’s commitment to caring for our heritage. We are
confident the experiment will be successful, and if so we will consider
a more extensive phased plan for the Heritage Centre as a whole.”
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