22 Jul 2015
Concorde will be star attraction at £16m Bristol Aerospace Centre
BY Tom Anstey
Concorde is to be the crown jewel in a £16m (US$25m, €23m) aerospace museum, after the proposed attraction in Bristol, UK, was granted planning permission by local authorities.
To be housed on the former Filton Airfield – one of the birthplaces of the British aviation industry – the Bristol Aerospace Centre by Purcell will be comprised of two refurbished World War One aircraft hangars, which will be transformed into a heritage museum, learning suites, archives and workshops. Purcell have also designed a new hangar to house Concorde.
The new centre will tell the story of Bristol’s aerospace industry from 1910 to the present day and into the future, displaying several important heritage collections. It will create a permanent home where people can access Concorde 216, the last British Concorde assembled at the Filton site which led the design, testing and production of the supersonic airliner.
Nottingham-based Focus Consultants are project managers, cost consultants and funding and business planning advisors.
The plans – which have been in the works since 2003 when Concorde made its final flight – were approved by South Gloucestershire Council, whose leader Matthew Riddle said the development would “become one of the most popular visitor attractions in the West, bringing many economic benefits to the region while celebrating the history of the aerospace industry past, present and future."
The development gained one of the largest slices of a £21m (US$33m €30m) Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant in December, receiving £4.7m (US$7.3m, €6.7m) to create the heritage attraction.
For the rest of the projected £16m cost, the Bristol Aero Collection Trust has already received significant pledged support from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Airbus and South Gloucestershire Council, as well as a number of local and national charitable trusts and major donors.
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