Plans to turn historic house into visitor centre

The National Trust has submitted plans to turn a historic Shropshire building into an activity space.

Long Mynd House in Carding Mill Valley, near Church Stretton, could be converted into an operational space from a residential let.

Carding Mill Valley, a beauty spot run by the National Trust, is already a popular site for primary and secondary school children to visit. The proposal includes plans for the house to become a place for pupils to learn.

If approved, the space would also be used to store laboratory equipment and facilitate education about ecology and improve interpretation of the landscape.

The house was previously used as the accommodation for an on-site warden, who used to overlook the wider site.

The National Trust said currently, there is "insufficient indoor space" to accommodate visitor groups - including children.

Natalie Ioannou, from the trust, said: "The proposed change of use would not only benefit these groups by providing the proposed additional space, but it would also reduce the impact of visitors on many nearby residents by redirecting the activity into an internal area away from the public road."

Any groups using the property would not be allowed to use or have access to the garden space to the rear of the building or eat lunch outside.

This, said Ioannou, would prevent any infringement on privacy and mitigate any noise.

The property would be used by groups of no more than 50 people at a time from 10:00 to 15:00 BST during school term times and occasional weekend use by community groups, said the plans.

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