Robin Hooper said the Mount landmark was vital for the future of Shrewsbury and the council would find it difficult to attract vital funding unless it was in the hands of the town. Currently on a 175-year lease agreement, the building is home to the Valuation Agency.

Mr Hooper said by releasing the building for public use it would give first time access to the gardens and buildings that were a haven for Charles Darwin as a school boy.

The gardens also contain an ice house, believed to be the only one of its kind in the country, and plants and ferns sent home by Darwin from his ground-breaking voyage to the Galapagos Islands.

Robin Hooper said the property would be the key to the future investment in the town.

He said: “We are aiming to develop the Frankwell country town park, which we are hoping to include Darwin’s Field, which really reflects the understanding of national funding bodies.

“But the real centrepiece will be the Mount and Darwin’s birthplace.

“This will take real people power to achieve and I would call on everyone to lend full support as we look towards the bicentenary in 2009. It will give the public access to plant life which was around during Darwin’s lifetime, for the first time, and create a centre in Shrewsbury of international importance.”

In the ‘Darwin Masterplan’, put together by the birthplace trust, the mission statement said: “In our opinion, the anchor project for the masterplan should be trust or public ownership of the Mount for the purposes of period restoration and optimal public access.”

The trust, along with the borough council, has suggested that if ownership could be obtained the building could house an interpretation of the story of Darwin’s birth and space for meetings and conferences.

By James Holt

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