The Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre in Ruddington, which is the home of the Great Central Railway (Nottingham), will have a new, improved toilet block by the end of this year.

The new building will replace temporary facilities which are ageing, and, unlike their predecessor, will be fully accessible and include shower and baby change facilities.

Rushcliffe Borough Council has agreed a grant of forty thousand pounds through the UK Shared Prosperity fund, which is part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda.

This will meet the larger part of the project’s estimated total cost of sixty-five thousand pounds.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund intends to provide £2.6 billion funding for local investment by March 2025, aiming to “improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills”.

The Great Central Railway (Nottingham) operates trains along the former Great Central Mainline towards Loughborough. The line originally opened in 1899 and was the last mainline railway built during the great railway boom of the industrial revolution.

GCR(N) has launched an appeal to raise the remaining funds needed for the toilet block, and supporters can make a donation here.

In a separate project, the Railway plans to reconnect to another preserved GCR section in Leicestershire. Construction work on the Reunification project has already begun, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in December.

“This is a major step forward for the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre and Great Central Railway Nottingham. As we rebuild our roster of special events and reopen the railway, having decent accessible toilets is essential. We’re grateful for the grant funding and will be seeking out other potential funds too, but for now we have begun a public appeal for £25,000 so we can get building as soon as possible and open the new toilets before Christmas 2024. We’ve already received donations, so thank you to everyone helping us raise pounds so we can all spend a penny.”

Andy Fillingham, Great Central Railway Nottingham