AN EXCITING new £1.1M wildlife centre near Machynlleth has been hailed as a “new dawn.”

The Dyfi Wildlife Centre: A Community Project will be based at Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust’s Cors Dyfi Reserve near Machynlleth, home of the Dyfi Osprey Project and 360 Observatory and should be built by spring 2020.

The new development, located in the UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere area, will be an iconic wildlife and environment-based visitor centre development attracting up to 60,000 visitors per year.

The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will cover half of the £1.1 million cost of the project, the remainder being funded by donations and membership appeals.

Emyr Evans, Dyfi projects manager for Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, said: “This is the dawn of a new era for us. For 10 years we have been organically adding various elements to our visitor amenities at Cors Dyfi, but by today they are beginning to resemble tired, bolt-on features.

“This project allows us to build a great new visitor centre in Mid Wales that will give adults and children alike an amazing experience of the ospreys, wildlife and the rich heritage of the River Dyfi.

“The Dyfi Wildlife Centre will complement the 360 Observatory we built on the reserve in 2014, again part-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.”

The news also delighted Val Hawkins, chief executive of MWT Cymru, the independent organisation representing around 600 Mid Wales tourism and hospitality businesses.

“Wildlife and nature have been identified as a major draw for visitors to Mid Wales and having a new visitor centre with this focus in the UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere will be fantastic,” she said. “This is very welcome investment in the area.”

This project will create a flagship visitor centre on the banks of the River Dyfi on Cors Dyfi Reserve, one of the few lowland peat bog habitats remaining in Wales.

A centre based on astute environmental and sustainable technologies with carbon-positive performance, it will pull together all the amenities of the current Dyfi Osprey Project under one roof, giving a far richer and immersive experience for visitors and volunteers alike.

The centre will be developed and built from the outset based on community involvement and participation. From consultation and decision-making to the actual construction and operation, the community will have a stake at every stage.

Showcasing the reserve’s rich biodiversity, including the Dyfi ospreys, a team of staff and 200 volunteers will communicate the cultural, industrial and natural heritage of the River Dyfi for the first time in a pioneering centre attracting up to 60,000 visitors annually.

Following a development phase of approximately one year, a Round 2 Heritage Lottery decision is expected next summer with work starting on the new centre in the autumn 2019. The Dyfi Wildlife Centre is forecast to be open in spring 2020.