Full steam ahead!

HISTORIC PUMPING STATION REVEALS BIG PLANS FOR THE FUTURE AFTER £500K REVAMP TAKES IT OFF 'HERITAGE AT-RISK' REGISTER

- By JOE LOCKER Local democracy reporter

THE director of the most complete Victorian pumping station in the country has big hopes for the site in the new year - after it was removed from Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register following a £500,000 restoration project.

Papplewick Pumping Station, in Rigg Lane, Ravenshead, has all of its original features, machinery, and grounds - including the ornate pump house which features two 13-tonne beam engines that still work today.

Constructed between 1882 and 1886 in a Gothic Revival style, the station pumped fresh water to people in Nottingham for almost 100 years. It was in continuous operation until 1969, before later opening as a museum in 1975 under a trust.

Ashley Smart, who has been the museum director for 19 years, said he hopes a planning application for a new visitor centre will be approved in the new year, before surveyors can stop by to draw up costs for this next big project.

"Three pieces have been restored - the boundary wall, the engine house porch, and the chimney as well," Mr Smart said.

The 120ft chimney had been deteriorating before its restoration.

"When the team put scaffolding up they found it had a lean to it, more than we had thought," Mr Smart continued. "It's an amazing view up there. It has been repointed, and we've replaced bricks that were falling. That was the risk."