Stone Heritage Centre construction to begin after contractor appointed

The former Stone Fire Station, which sits on the Crown Wharf site, is set to become the town’s new heritage centre and tourist information point after Stone Town Council awarded a contract for the building works.

On a recent visit to the site, A Little Bit of Stone was walked through the plans to transform the empty fire station building.

Firstly, the original facade of the building will be retained but won’t serve as functional access to the site. The entrance to the heritage centre and visitor information point will be signposted down the alley that runs alongside the new centre.

Visitors entering the centre will be e a manned reception lobby containing information about the town, local guides and nearby attractions leaflets – the typical kind of tourist information centre you would expect from a town like Stone.

From the lobby, there will be two heritage display areas, a smaller room, labelled “room 1” in the plans, and the “main area” which is the space where the fire engines would previously have lived. Both spaces can be accessed independently, giving flexibility for the curated displays of Stone’s heritage and history.

As you move to the rear of the site, there’s a new addition to the building that was completed during the Crown Wharf development project. This area is defined as a “cafe area” on the plan; however, the town clerk explained that this area would be more a classroom / meeting space. Local schools and other users can come and use the facilities whilst exploring the centre or nearby canal.

Having renewed the roof and connected new utility supplies, the next critical stage of the project is this building work. This will see the building returned to a usable condition, ready for its final fit-out and subsequent re-opening as the town’s new Heritage Centre.

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It was really interesting to wander around a piece of Stone’s history that we pass every day. Looking up inside the tall chimney-like structure that used to dry the fire hoses made me think of the action the fire station must have seen in its days.

The start date is waiting to be scheduled by the builder, but it’s hoped that the building and fit-out of the new heritage centre will be completed and ready for opening towards the end of 2023.

Councillor Rob Kenney, Chairman of the Council’s General Purposes Committee, said

“I’m pleased to see this building work getting underway as the next stage in bringing this exciting Town Council project to fruition.

I look forward to the opening of the Heritage Centre, and its addition to the facilities of our town.”

The Heritage Centre at Crown Wharf is part of one of the most exciting projects that we’ve seen in Stone recently. Supported by Joule’s Brewery, the Crown Wharf development also includes the Crown Wharf public house and the soon-to-be-completed Crown Wharf Theatre.

The project is intended to bring new facilities to the town and regenerate an underutilised area of Stone next to the Canal.