Downham Market & District Heritage Society is throwing open the doors of the Town’s Old Fire Station for its first public open day. Part of the national Heritage Open Days scheme, the building will be open from: 10.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday 8 September. The Old Fire Station was decommissioned in 2006, since when it has lain empty, but is to be transformed into a new Heritage Centre as part of a project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The open day is an opportunity to consult across the community to help shape the building’s future. ‘We are keen that everyone should have the opportunity to say what they would like to see in a Heritage Centre.’ says Dave Flower, a member of the Heritage Society’s project team. ‘It’s a great chance not only to look at how the spaces in the Old Fire Station can work, but also to think about events and activities, displays and exhibitions, volunteering and training, use by schools and other groups – really anything that can happen in and around the building.’ There will also be a chance to see some of the Society’s collections relating to the Fire Station’s past and to suggest a name for the new Centre. Balloons will be available for children and members of the Heritage Society will give tours and talks about the Old Fire Station and its significance. As well as opening the Old Fire Station, the existing Heritage Centre – in Downham Market Town Hall – will be open, and the Heritage Society will be represented at the Heritage weekend at St Edmund’s Church. For more information, go to www.weloveheritage.org.uk
