The Foundation awards grants to community projects from funds donated by waste firm FCC Environment through the Landfill Communities Fund and is a principal supporter of the project.
Paul Taylor, group chief executive of FCC Environment and
Simon Settle, general manager of FCC Communities Foundation
Announced today (February 5) by the Bletchley Park Trust, the development plans include ‘rediscovering the wartime fabric’ of three buildings on the Buckinghamshire site to provide new exhibition spaces, a new collection centre to store and make accessible the sites’ collection and a dedicated learning facility.
Enigma
The exhibition spaces will occupy ‘block A’, a building previously used to analysis and disseminate Enigma and other encrypted messages to provide the Royal Navy with vital intelligence about the operations of enemy vessels.
This will be the first time these buildings will be open, giving us a unique opportunity to share more untold stories and shed light on this crucial part of British World War Two history. The new facilities are due to open in 2021-2022.
Supporting the project alongside the FCC Community Fund is the Thomas L. Kempner, Jr., Foundation, and lead principal sponsor, BAE Systems.
‘Unique’
Simon Settle, general manager of FCC Communities Foundation, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the Bletchley Park Trust with the next phase of development. This is an exciting project to be involved with, as for the first time the visiting public will have access to these unique buildings.
“The space created in Block A will allow visitors to appreciate the permanent exhibitions, but also appeal to a wider audience visiting the temporary exhibitions. We are looking forward to working alongside the Trust and other funders to further develop what is already a unique visitor attraction that will inspire future generations, whilst recognising the incredible achievements of the past.”
Visitors
The works will enable over 300,000 visitors and over 50,000 students a year to visit the site.
Iain Standen, chief executive of Bletchley Park Trust, said: “Bletchley Park has undergone huge transformation in recent years becoming a popular heritage attraction with over 250,000 visitors a year. This project allows us to build on this success by making more of the site and its amazing story accessible. We hope that this will encourage even more people to visit and engage with this important part of World War Two history.”
The FCC Communities Foundation, previously known as WREN, was established in 1997 and has provided over £250m to more than 7,500 projects across the UK.
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