Nottinghamshire County Council is to “take stock and assess what other funding can be found” after the Sherwood: The Living Legend project lost out in a contest for £50m of lottery funding.
A programme of smaller scale projects will now be carried out to reforest areas of Sherwood Forest and improve cycling and walking amenities, “at a slower pace than we had hoped for”.
The scheme was one of four projects bidding for the Big Lottery Fund money, with the Sherwood team proposing reforestation, new cycle and walking paths and a state-of-the-art eye-cayching 60ft-high timber visitor centre.
Nottinghamshire County Council said that it will consider plans for the visitor centre in 2008 as the current facility has to close in 2010.
“We gave it our best shot and I’m proud of the efforts made by all of the organisations involved and heartened by the enthusiasm shown by people in Nottinghamshire,” said Nick Burrows, director of communities at the council.
“The project has brought together a strong partnership who are committed to working together to enhance Sherwood Forest and our work will continue.”
Mr Burrows added project organisers “will continue to do our best to find funding to enhance and revitalise the forest”, with Nottinghamshire County Council adding that the Big Lottery Fund contest had helped raise the profile of Sherwood Forest.
