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Woodland eco centre opens

Posted: 04/07/2007

An innovative eco centre built to celebrate the local environment and heritage of one of Northamptonshire's ancient woodlands was officially opened by Forestry Commission Chairman Lord Clark recently. Top Lodge at Fineshade Woods has used local and natural materials and the latest renewable energy design, to develop 18th-century buildings into a state of the art recreation and information complex.

The site offers visitors a unique opportunity to get inside the local environment, to explore it, to see local wildlife up close, and learn about local crafts and the heritage of the area. The centre has been constructed at the heart of the River Nene Regional Park (RNRP) and has been delivered by Forestry Commission England with the help of local and national partners, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Rockingham Forest Craft Guild. It has been supported by Communities and Local Government funding.

The vast majority of the materials used for the development were local and naturally sourced, including green oak and ash timber from the sustainably managed ancient woodlands. Sheep's wool was used as roof insulation material. The site also has one of the biggest reed bed sewerage systems in the country, with an organic five-tier cleansing process, as well as a rainwater collection system, and a wood-fuelled heating system supplied from the surrounding forest.

Kevin Stannard, the local forest manager, said that the building is just the start, with one of the key drivers of the project being to encourage more people to get outdoors and be active in the countryside. He said: "Woodlands offer a brilliant green and safe space for people to enjoy, and Top Lodge will help us deliver our commitment, as part of our Active Woods campaign, to get more people out, active, and benefiting from the fresh air, offering them the space to run, walk and let off energy.

"With more than 26 kilometres of cycle trails and walks through the forest, all-ability access into the woodland, and all the things on offer, we hope people will come back time and again. So far we have had more than 2000 people using the site, and that is before it has been officially launched. Now we want to really put Top Lodge on the map."

Many of the trails which snake through the oak, ash, beech and pine trees of Fineshade take visitors through sites where iron smelting, coppicing and charcoal burning happened centuries ago, and the Craft Guild aim to celebrate those local traditions with regular demonstrations in the converted barns at Top Lodge.

The project is 9 miles from Corby and 15 miles from Peterborough - an area highlighted for growth in the latest round of Government community and housing planning.

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