Funding unlocks access at historic attraction

A historic Darlington attraction has improved accessibility for visitors after securing funding to tackle drainage and surface water problems.

Tees Cottage Pumping Station, at Broken Scar on the River Tees, has used support from the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Unlocking Access programme to create smoother routes around the site.

The 177-year-old former waterworks attracts thousands of visitors, but surface water flooding and drainage issues had made parts of the site difficult to navigate, particularly for wheelchair and pushchair users and people with reduced mobility.

Funding has enabled the attraction’s volunteer team to lay gravel and use machinery to improve routes around the working museum.

An accessibility survey was also carried out through the programme, helping volunteers identify further improvements, including changes to signage.

Built in 1849 to provide drinking water for Darlington and Teesside, Tees Cottage was preserved after the waterworks closed in 1980.

Its collection includes pumping engines dating from 1904, 1914 and 1926.

Former chemical engineer Martyn Brown joined the volunteering team looking after Tees Cottage Pumping Station in 2018, shortly after retiring.

He said: “The Unlocking Access fund has really put the cash in our pockets to buy the gravel and to rent the machines.

“Without it, the job would have taken us much longer.

“We'd have had to budget out of our limited funds to do a bit this year, a bit next year and a bit afterwards.

“But this has allowed us to do the full-scale job across the site.”

The Unlocking Access programme has offered grants ranging from £500 to £10,000 to museums, galleries, theatres and visitor attractions, alongside accessibility training, scoping visits and audits.

It aims to help venues become more inclusive, reach new audiences and increase visitor spending.

The initiative was part-funded through the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with additional support from the Tees Valley Combined Authority through its creative and visitor economy growth programme.

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen added: “Our museums, attractions and cultural venues are a huge part of what makes our region special, and everyone should have the chance to enjoy them.

“This support is about making practical improvements which open doors to more people, and it’s great to see Tees Cottage Pumping Station using it to make such a historic site easier to visit.

“The volunteers there do a brilliant job keeping this important piece of our region’s history alive, and this funding will help even more people experience it for themselves.”

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.