A grant of half a million pounds from Viridor Credits.
The fundraising for the proposed new £17.5m AEROSPACE BRISTOL has had a terrific boost thanks to a grant of half a million pounds from Viridor Credits.
John Lockwood, CEO of Viridor Credits, visited the nine-acre museum site on the edge of Filton airfield in Bristol recently. A former employer of the Bristol Aircraft Corporation, John was fascinated by the exhibits in various stages of restoration by a dedicated band of volunteers. John said “The Viridor Credits Board were delighted to be among the first to support the Bristol Aerospace Centre’s important preservation of the UK’s aviation history. Bristol’s contribution to 100 years of world aviation will be demonstrated here, telling the stories of the people who made history with world-leading design and technology, inspiring future generations of engineers.”
Jill Taylor, the Director of Fundraising for the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, said ‘We are truly grateful to the Viridor Credits trustees for this tremendous sum. The money will be used to restore one of the important WW1, grade II listed hangar that was built in 1917 as an Air Acceptance Park. The hangar will house the collections that tell the story of the Bristol Aeroplane Company and its successor companies from the early days of flight in the 1900s through the two World Wars when the hangar was home to the 501 squadron and on through the years of the cold war to the growth of commercial flight, Concorde and the air travel today.’
The Centre, due to open in the Summer of 2017, will be a major new attraction and educational site for Bristol. Jill went on to add, ‘if it wasn’t for the Viridor Credits Board having the vision to support this project we would not have been able to raise the funds needed to restore this hangar in time for our second round Heritage Lottery Fund application. It was a pleasure to welcome John to see the site at first hand and to learn of his personal connection with the history we plan to tell. The Bristol Aero Collection Trust is most grateful for Viridor Credits for this tremendous commitment to this project’.