Response to the results of the visitor survey of 4th June 2017.
Link to the survey <click here>
Centre Manager, Darren Norton –
“It is particularly pleasing to see so many people visit who had never done so, or had not visited for many years. One challenge is to encourage repeat visits, so promoting our ‘pop-up’ displays will go some way. Our Festival display was generally met with approval. It was encouraging to see how many people said they will return to the centre.
It is also encouraging to see visitors found our displays interesting, although we are aware of the need to improve a couple of areas. Long-term plans include introducing interactive displays, although that is very much a few years away. We have volunteers working on a project to create a film of Brandon heritage, which we can show in the centre. With regards to recording voices of Brandonians, this can be easily done. In fact I am about to loan my own digital voice recorder to a visitor who wants to record his mother’s recollections. How good it
would be to have a workshop giving the community confidence to record their family, with the centre pooling these voices and recollections.
I am not surprised at the number who did not wish to volunteer for the centre. We appreciate it takes a certain person to offer their spare time, time today is a valuable commodity, so any offer of volunteering is as valuable as any pledge of money. This underlines how precious
our volunteers are – something I am keen the centre never forgets and acknowledges to its volunteers.
We have some way to go with the awareness of our online presence, although I like the fact people tend to know we are on Facebook.
Reference the darkness at the rear of the building. The fluorescent tube has blown, in fact it probably went many years ago. We are working on replacing all blown tubes and starters, but this one is particularly troublesome as it is at height and requires us to follow Health & Safety guidelines. We are working on it though.
The nod to the building being a Fire Station – I agree, although I had not thought of this before. We do have enough old photos in our archive and we shall approach the Fire Station across the road for assistance too. Perhaps we can combine this with voice recordings of fire
crews too? Sounds like a good project to get our teeth into.
Reprinting the old faded images – agree, although that area is under review so is likely to change anyway.
Tea/coffee machine – a tricky one due to servicing and contract terms, so not a priority at the moment, but can review in due course.
Country Park hosting the collection. Now that is a contentious issue and one stretching back over a decade. We have no plans to move. I always refer people to the Dad’s Army museum in Thetford, they are on a one-way street and tucked just off the Market Place. So in some ways not too dissimilar to our centre, although I concede they have national interest due to their subject matter. It just means we at the centre need to make louder noises about Brandon’s Heritage Centre.
Judging by the comments over the weekend a lot of people are sharing our passion for the centre and our desire to keep its doors open. Personally I can only see a revival in this centre’s fortunes. However, as this is a community led project we always welcome comments and offers of assistance. With no community we have no centre.”