Attingham Park 'outdoor hub' plans submitted featuring new trails, play areas and refurbished Second World War assets

The scheme for Attingham Park at Atcham, near Shrewsbury, includes a new hub building with a visitor welcome area, cafe, food/beverage kiosks, a kitchen, toilets, welfare facilities, and bike hire/maintenance.

A car park with electric vehicle charging is also included, along with associated infrastucture and overflow parking, while there will be an "interpretation" and refurbishment of a former Second World War runway and aerodrome.

Elsewhere, the project features new and restored site routes, 13km of trails, wildlife viewing and children’s play areas, cycle skills tracks, new green corridors, orchard/wildflower planting, a wetland habitat, and foul water and sustainable drainage systems.

“The proposed outdoor hub will create a new distinct experience from the current facilities to visitors, creating a range of attractions whilst celebrating and refurbishing heritage and Second World War features that exist on the site,” said James Vince, of Ove Arup & Partners Ltd.

“With sustainability at the forefront of national and local policies, the outdoor hub will also utilise the opportunity to showcase design principles and renewable energy solutions, whilst creating green corridors, sustainable transportation links working in partnership with providers, creating and restoring habitats, and giving visitors a place to immerse themselves in the countryside and nature.”

Mr Vine said the proposed hub will comprise a core area of around 27.5 hectares that will contain new buildings and associated car park and infrastructure.

The principal access for all visitors is expected to be off the B4394 via the Atcham Business Park access road. From there, people can explore the hub site before continuing to discover the wider path network and landscape.

Mr Vine said it is hoped that it will accommodate around 350,000 visitors a year by 2036.

“Additonal surveys were undertaken to finalise the location including habitat recording, ecology, tree surveys, ground investigations and traffic surveys,” added Mr Vine.

“The final location of the former Atcham airbase met all the criteria identified with the additional benefit of being almost at the heart of the estate.

“In the first phases of the development, the outdoor hub will be a distinctive visitor offer from the main site with no connectivitiy between the two.

“This is due to the different pricing options and visitor offer which will include cycling and horse riding at the outdoor hub, which cannot be replicated in the registered park and garden to capacity and historic designations.”

Anyone who wishes to comment on the scheme can do so via Shropshire Council’s planning portal by February 7, using the reference number 24/04831/FUL.