Visitor Centre
We are all very proud that Dartmouth has been chosen as the home for the RNLI’s new Visitor Centre which is to be the first of its kind in the UK and their flagship centre. We are sure that it will make a great addition to the existing attractions in the town and be somewhere that visitors and residents will have fun visiting. They will gain more knowledge about both the RNLI and the wonderful town of Dartmouth. We have secured the lease on the Old Post Office on the Embankment which will be the perfect venue.
I am delighted and very proud to have been asked to be the local Project Manager and then Manager once the Visitor Centre is open. Although I am fairly new to the area, I have been a visitor for 30 years and have now achieved a long term ambition, along with my husband, to be living in one of the loveliest corners of the South West. I also always planned to be involved with The RNLI; a charity I have supported for many years and which has volunteer crew men and women who risk so much for no return.
It is still early days in the completion of the Visitor Centre. The RNLI Head Office are currently working with contractors to agree quotes for the structural and building work. Nothing has yet been agreed but they do have a “preferred bidder” who is a local company.
We will, very soon, be putting some advertising in the windows of the building so that passers-by can see that a Visitor Centre is coming to Dartmouth
We are hopeful that the fitting out of the interior can start in mid to late November and Head Office are in the process of viewing creative design proposals and plan to choose a company who will begin creative construction in January or February. This is the time that the initial launch promotions will start and will include a recruitment drive for volunteers, so watch this space if you would like to join the team.
We are hoping to be open to visitors in time for Easter but this will depend on how the building work and fitting out goes. However, from March we will be holding open evenings for local businesses, including hotels and restaurants. We are very keen to show what the Visitor Centre will have to offer and for business owners to spread the word. We will also be holding evenings for volunteers and supporters to give us a chance to meet up and to introduce them to all the attractions and shop that we will be working in. I am particularly looking forward to spending time with the volunteers I will be working with and will be making these evenings a regular event.
A formal opening will be arranged with, hopefully, a VIP guest of honour, but this will be after we initially open for business.
I will keep you up to date with our progress, but in the mean-time, if you would like to join my team of volunteers, whether it be on a regular basis or just as an occasional helper, please email me at tracey.lucas@hotmail.co.uk
