Actress opens new Skipton tourist attraction (From Craven Herald)

Actress opens new Skipton tourist attraction

5:59pm Monday 23rd August 2010 in

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Actress Hannah Hobley, of Benidorm and Cranford fame, officially opened Skipton’s latest tourist attraction.

Hannah opened the historical innovation zone at High Corn Mill – one of the oldest buildings in the town.

She also switched on a custom-made £35,000 water turbine, which will generate part of the town’s electricity supply via the national grid. It will supply enough power for up to 20 local houses.

Mill owner Andrew Mean said: “It was a big day for us and for Skipton. The mill has been an important part of Skipton life for over 300 years and will continue to be thanks to ongoing investment in the building.”

Best-known for playing Chantelle Garvey in the BAFTA nominated sitcom, Benidorm, Hannah added a celebrity touch to the opening. The mayor of Skipton, Coun Robert Heseltine, also attended The mill’s 15kW, 600kg Crossflow turbine was delivered last month.

Andrew, an environmental enthusiast who also runs letslivegreen.co.uk on Albert Terrace, Skipton, said: “The new turbine is the culmination of a £200,000 environmental initiative to restore our waterwheel, ensure the mill retains its medieval roots and extend the visitor car park.

“It forms the centrepiece of the mill’s historical innovation zone where visitors can see the waterwheel in action from a newly-created viewing area. We think it will be of real interest to people visiting Skipton as well as those who live in the town.”

High Corn Mill dates back as far as 1310 when records first show the site was used to mill corn. However the main body of the building dates from the 18th century. Today, it is home to retail, beauty, food and business tenants.