South West Lakes Trust secures funds for Burrator Reservoir project
South West Lakes Trust is celebrating securing funding of £378,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Burrator Historic and Natural Environment Project.
The project, which has been a long-term aim for SWLT, will preserve the area's rich heritage and make it accessible by improving the visitor experience, overcoming barriers, extending the learning programme and by reaching out to more people.
With this HLF support, South West Lakes Trust, in partnership with South West Water, will now be able to unlock the potential of the lake and surrounding natural environment by working to preserve the historic features and opening up this fascinating landscape to more people.
Burrator Reservoir lies on the south-western edge of Dartmoor National Park, and is the backdrop to a wide range of historic buildings and features - including 12 Scheduled Ancient Monuments. Dating from 2,500 BC to the late 19th century, these include remnants of an 800 year old tin mine, and the greatest concentration of moorland stone hut circles to be found in Western Europe.
Having been awarded a HLF development grant in September 2010 South West Lakes Trust consulted widely to obtain people's views and desires for Burrator Reservoir.
In summary the three-year project will:
• Preserve and convert a redundant 100-year-old Iron Store into a Discovery and Learning Centre with a classroom, interpretation centre and offices
• Preserve two important historical ruins (Lowery Barn & Longstone Manor)
• Provide wide-ranging learning and volunteering opportunities including a Forest School and Family Wildlife Watch group
• Provide innovative interpretation both on site and via online media
• Employ a Heritage Learning Officer to deliver the project
During the development phase we also submitted successful funding applications to Biffa Award, Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund and West Devon Borough Council and we have been awarded, £15,963 and £500 respectively towards the project.
Evelyn Stacey, Chief Executive of South West Lakes Trust, said: "This is wonderful news and provides a great opportunity for us to protect some important historical features for future generations. Burrator is here for everyone to enjoy and people are keen to have better information on their heritage, which is a keystone of the project."
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