Shropshire Hills Discovery Center reacts to floods after new paths destroyed

On Saturday afternoon, it was almost as if nothing dramatic had happened at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Center, but this was due to the excellent efforts of a team of volunteers who responded quickly when the damage became known.

“Everything that was man-made was washed away, while everything that was natural survived,” said Grant Wilson, manager of the charity center at Craven Arms. “Apparently the Onny River has reached its highest level on record.”

Wednesday’s floods destroyed accessible paths used by people with disabilities. They were funded with £20,000 of government money administered by Shropshire Council.

Wilson, who said he felt “guilty” about the fact that the paths had only been in use for a few months, but would not make any hasty decisions.

“We are going to think seriously about what we are going to do,” he said. “It’s a floodplain and it’s likely to flood again. We’ll take some expert advice.”

Wilson said that in the short term, access has been restored, but that access for “all skill levels” would take “a lot longer.”

He apologized to disabled and other people experiencing difficulties for not being able to access the entire Onny Meadows website.

But Wilson praised volunteers for turning out in droves repairing paths and removing ruined fences.

“We are so grateful to the wonderful Onny Meadows Group for everything they do,” he said. “The 15 volunteers removed 15 tons of stones that had been removed by the floods.

“Our path network is now fully open to pedestrians, but unfortunately those using wheelchairs will not have access to the river. We felt sorry for them and were disheartened that we couldn’t offer it.”

He added that on Saturday there was a sense that visitors had turned out to help, using the cafe and visiting the exhibits.

“We certainly had more people here than I would normally expect,” Wilson said.

There’s a lot happening downtown over the next few months, including a fireworks display on October 26th and then a series of bi-annual activities leading up to the Frost Fair on November 2nd and 3rd.