Gateway to water park takes shape (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Gateway to water park takes shape

A £1.7 MILLION gateway centre to the Cotswold Water Park is being built.

The centre is to provide a focal point to the Water Park where visitors can then be directed to water sports and conservation areas.

The site chosen for development, which will create 30 new jobs, is on the Spine Road not far from its junction with the main Cirencester to Swindon Road.

Chief executive Roger Brown said: "It will be in the forefront of energy efficient sustainable design, with solar roof and heat pumps extracting heating and cooling from the lake energy together with recycling rainwater.

"Energy will be provided by the solar panels and any electricity that is not required will be sold off to the National Grid which should bring in an income of between £5,000 and £6,000 a year."

Public and information panels have been demolished to make way for the centre and a new commercial building will be built alongside to help finance the project.

Mr Brown said: "The centre will support park businesses by providing a year round networked tourist information centre, events and accommodation booking, park exhibition with sustainability theme, cafe and public toilets to replace the substandard ones on site."

People will be encouraged to either drive to the site or arrive by public transport, then explore the water park either on foot or on cycles.

The second building on the site is to be taken over by Cotswold Outdoor, an outdoor leisure company, which will be moving from its current premises in South Cerney's Broadway Lane.

Mr Brown said: "This is a partnership agreement whereby the rent the company pays for the building will help us pay off the loans to meet our share of the costs."

Grants awarded for the development have included £294,000 from the Countryside Agency's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund and £262,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Construction work began at the end of April and the visitor centre is expected to open in October.

* The children's beach at Keynes Country Park has just won the coveted Blue Flag award.

To win the international award it had to comply with bathing water standards set by the EC Bathing water directive.