Client: Natural England

Located on the Somerset Levels near Glastonbury, Shapwick Heath is a major wetlands nature reserve and covers over 500 hectares and forms part of the Avalon Marshes (part of Somerset’s Levels and Moors).   A significant area of the reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest the site is within the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar and SPA designations for important assemblages of wintering waders and wildfowl. The reserve includes former peat extraction areas.   There is evidence of Neolithic man on the reserve with the famous Sweet Track, a Scheduled Ancient
Monument, which is the oldest man made routeway in Britain. The reserve generates a number of education visits and hosts events and special activities for visitors. The reserve also provides opportunities for volunteering and learning new skills.

Working closely with the onsite management team at Natural England we identified and evaluated new product and revenue generating opportunities to enhance the visitor experience. We also produced a visitor forecasting model and carried out a financial analysis to support future development initiatives and we identified outline capital costs.

How can we help?
If you have any questions about developing a new visitor centre or reviewing options for an existing visitor centre or are looking at income generation opportunities at your nature reserve please don’t hesitate to call Richard Linington on 023 9248 1999 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk