WORK has begun on a £50,000 revamp of a North Yorkshire tourist attraction.
The Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, is hoping to increase footfall by installing new entrance and retail areas, a lift to the first floor and a biomass boiler.
Museum manager Fiona Rosher said: “This is a very exciting time and it marks a new chapter in the museum’s life. Reconfiguring the entrance area will enable us to create new introductory displays focusing on the elements of the Dales landscape.
“The retail area will offer more local products and includes a new area to highlight the work of local artists and makers, and there will also be a new space in which they can showcase and sell their work to a wide audience.”
Ian McPherson, the authority’s Member Champion for Promoting Understanding, said: “The museum offer a unique glimpse of Dales life past and present and it makes an important contribution to tourism in Hawes, helping to keep people in the area for longer.
“It is becoming more and more important that the National Park Authority generates income to off-set fixed costs.”
The building, which also houses a National Park Centre, will be partially closed for two weeks as the project gets under way, with a limited service for visitors at the rear entrance.
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