The Museum’s new electric launch, Marsh Harrier, is wheelchair accessible via a lift within the boat.  It was operated by an existing 48 volt system.  However, once operational at the end of 2019, it was found that the power required to operate the bow thruster, the bilge pumps, and the lift drained the batteries to an extent that trips were then limited or had to be curtailed.

This grant will fund the installation of a 12 volt electrical and self-contained 12 volt charging system on the boat.  It will enable the lift to be used without detriment to the normal running of the boat and create access for passengers unable to negotiate the boarding steps and to lower and raise passengers in wheelchairs into and off the boat.

The new 12 volt system, like the existing 48 volt system, will be charged using electricity generated by the Museum’s own solar panels.

The Broads Trust Trustees agreed the grant application early in 2020 but this was delayed due to Covid

Peter Howe, Trustee of Broads Trust, presents the cheque to Nicola Hems, Curator and Robert Paul, Chairman of Museum of the Broads Trustees

Date:  August 2020

Grant Applicant: Museum of the Broads

Grant amount provided towards the full project costs: £1,300

Salhouse Broad is popular to visit by boat, cycle or foot, being close to the village of Salhouse with its many facilities including pubs and cafes.  It is a destination is its own right.

The aim of this project is to create a bespoke natural play space for everyone to enjoy. The new play area will encourage children and families to engage with the stunning natural woodland adjacent to the Broad and within The Broads National Park. It will widen the offer to both local residents and families visiting the area, encouraging them to visit at any time of the year and to stay for longer.

With direct links to the river, local footpaths and well known cycle routes, it perfectly fits the vision of Love The Broads to enable access for all, including young children, to the Broads and its natural environment, bringing with it all the benefits to health and well being

The new play area was built if natural and sustainable materials, with the chestnut timber sourced, processed and seasoned from sustainably managed local woodland. Timber from the existing play area, which is some years old, will be used in other parts of the site for repairs such as to the boardwalks etc.  The play area was completed in a snowy February 2021

CAP.Co, a local, Broads-based company who are international leaders in the field of creating adventurous, playful, educational spaces, have been commissioned to deliver this project

Date: January 2020

Grant Applicant: Friends of Salhouse Broad

Grant Amount provided towards the full project costs:   £2,000

The purchase of specialist mats will help to protect the fragile peat fen from compression from even light-weight reed cutting machinery. This project aims to provide modern equipment to adapt operations to climate change and rising sea levels. It will improve access to a number of sites that are managed for conservation and commercial reed, (renowned for its high quality and used in fencing and thatching roofs across the country) and sedge.  It will involve the purchase of 20 track mats to prevent ground damage to these biodiverse peat fens and facilitate the removal of the quality local product from the marsh.  Currently many areas of marsh can only be accessed on foot and laying these transportable and temporary track ways over areas of unstable ground will enable the Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Association‘s members to use machinery to remove the final product.

Date: January 2020

Grant applicant: Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Association

Grant provided: £1,200

Video recordings of the memories and stories of the men and women who worked in this fascinating radar station throughout the Cold War period.  These unique historic recordings will be broadcast within an Exhibition at the Museum. They will add personality, engagement and historical information to the visitor experience and will inform young people of the challenging times and social history the Cold War era and ensure that these memories are available to all before they are lost forever.

(left) Peter Howe, Trustee of the Broads Trust, presenting a cheque to Trustees of the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum, Neatishead 

(right)  The Operations Room in the Radar Museum 

Date: January 2020

Grant Applicant: RAF Air Defence Radar Museum

Grant amount: £2,219.97

The Friends of Thurne Mill was created 5 years ago.  Their purpose is to keep visitors and residents informed and involved and grow the interest in this iconic Broads historic Mill.  This project will creat a physical and digital history about the folk who lived and worked at the Mill and the impact it had on the local community.  A Love the Broads grant will part-fund the costs of recording and digital equipment to enable this historical record to be captured now and to be added to in the future.

“By granting these funds, we will be able to create an archive that will last through the generations.  It means a great deal to the organisation and we are really looking forward to getting started”,
Friends of Thurne Mill

Date: 2019

Grant Applicant: Friends of Thurne Mill
Grant Amount: £2,034.10