Iron Giant visitor centre should open by autumn

The Victorian viaduct near Ilkeston is one of only two of its kind that survive to this day

A £1.1m visitor centre being built at a historic viaduct on the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border should be open this Autumn, volunteers behind the scheme have said.

Bennerley Viaduct on the River Erewash has a new visitor centre under construction as well as an accessible ramp and nature reserve.

When complete the visitor centre will include exhibition and educational spaces, a cafe, outdoor seating and bicycle parking.

While an exact date for opening is "impossible" to set, Friends of Bennerley Viaduct chair Nick Tooley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the group is "hoping" it will be open to visitors in October.

The visitor centre is nearing completion

He said: "Bear with us, this project has lasted longer than it should have, there have been some technical issues we are hopefully getting around now.

"We think we're on the final run and we do desperately hope we will have it open, with the help of the council, this October."

He added the group had assembled a lot of archive material about the site.

The centre is at the eastern end of the 60ft (20m) tall viaduct, a Grade II* listed bridge which stretches nearly a quarter of a mile (430m) over the River Erewash between Ilkeston and Awsworth. It is known as the Iron Giant.

He said: "We've been speaking to people who remember going over the viaduct when it was open in the '60s, on holiday, on the trains.

"It actually means an awful lot to a lot of people."

'A lasting tribute'

The Victorian viaduct reopened to the public as a walkway and cycle path in 2022 after being closed for 54 years.

Broxtowe Borough Council leader Milan Radulovic said he hoped the visitor centre would help attract tourists to the area.

He said: "The wealth we enjoy and the standard of living were built on the backs of working-class people, and this area has a proud heritage of mining, steel work, and industrial work.

"This will be a lasting tribute and memorial to the sacrifices that they made for the freedoms and benefits we enjoy today."