The Braunton Countryside Centre situated in the heart of the North Devon Biosphere Reserve, helps visitors to explore and discover the local coast and countryside through its educational resources, expertise and the activities it undertakes. It recently underwent a stunning transformation through a phase of redevelopment works which included a new roof with roof lights and improvements to energy efficiency with fitting of better insulation, LED lighting and a 4kW PV system to generate electricity from the sun.
The Centre, built over 25 years ago, was beginning to be a bit tired and dated and the roof was in need of urgent repair. The redevelopment goal of the Centre has been to modernise the building to make it a state of the art information and interpretation centre whilst maximising its benefit to the local community and visitors. The Trustees and volunteers of the Centre worked hard applying to funders and fundraising to make the project happen. Fortunately, they were successful in receiving money from Fullabrook CIC, the Braunton Parish Council, the Luscott Barton Community Benefit Fund and the Western Power Community Benefit Fund to help with the costs of this initial part of the project.
The inbuilt PV roof system was fitted by local firm RES Devon, local roofing firm Nathan Spice undertook the roofing work and the LED lighting was provided by South West Lighting.
Ken Rutherford Chair of Trustees commented “The Trustees and volunteer team worked hard to secure the funding to help us achieve our aim of making the Centre a viable and attractive building for the future, and we have an exciting programme of activities and talks planned for the future”.
To find out how to donate, help with fundraising, volunteer or for more information about the Braunton Countryside Centre events and activities visit: www.brauntoncountrysidecentre.org
