New pictures show construction of planetarium

The facility is on track to open on time

A £5m planetarium being built in Nottinghamshire is on track despite construction being hampered by wet weather.

Dr Steve Wallace, project manager, said progress had been a "real challenge" but should still be completed in November.

Work at Sherwood Observatory, off Coxmoor Road in Sutton-in-Ashfield, began in August.

Newly-released pictures show how the building is taking shape.

Construction is well under way for completion in November

The Sherwood Observatory opened in 1986 and will have the first new planetarium of its size in the UK in more than a decade.

There will be a science discovery centre featuring an underground exhibition space in the Victorian reservoir, a café on top, and the planetarium.

Along with the wet weather, Dr Wallace said: "Inflation has affected the construction project as well, and we are still raising funds."

Construction of the planetarium's exterior is nearly complete.

The centre already has one of the biggest public-access telescopes in the UK and with the addition of the planetarium, Dr Wallace said: "We can take you anywhere in the universe."

Plans for the facility at Sherwood Observatory were approved by Ashfield District Council in March last year.

The underground Victorian reservoir will become the exhibition area, displaying the original walls