The project consists of demolishing the existing Lime Kiln Cottage at Rye Harbour and replacing it with a new build Discovery Centre. The Discovery Centre is part of the Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) estate in Rye Harbour, East Sussex. Stephen Wilson Partnership (SWP) have been instructed as Structural and Civil Engineers for the project.
The Local Nature Reserve at Rye Harbour was established in 1970 by East Sussex County Council under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. In 2011 the management responsibilities were transferred to the Sussex Wildlife Trust. All the partners of the Nature Reserve can be found here. The 465 hectares (1149 acres) are generally flat and low lying with no natural feature above 6m. and entirely within the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SSSI (9,137ha.). The high points are the crests of shingle storm ridges built up over hundreds of years by the combined action of tides and storms. The low points are the sheltered areas between the ridges where saltmarsh developed on the regularly inundated land.
The Discovery Centre is needed because, at the moment, SWT do not have adequate facilities for their staff, volunteers and the large numbers of annual visitors that they welcome on the reserve, including parties of schoolchildren. The Centre will provide a modern, spacious facility housing exhibition, information, education and community space in addition to a café and external wildlife gardens.
The site is challenging and needed considerable research to enable the new building to fit in with its very sensitive environment.
