The Cinderbury dream could rise from the ashes thanks to a new business proposal to run the Iron Age Centre. A new bidder has come forward to reopen the village, near Clearwell (Gloucestershire, England), as a tourist attraction, but to learn from the mistakes made last year.
     The village, which gave visitors a chance to get away from it all, throw away modern trappings and live off the land for a holiday or educational visit, shut down last month because there was no money left. At the moment the new bidder wishes to remain anonymous, but the company in charge of marketing Cinderbury says it is 'hopeful' for its future and believes it is close to concluding a deal.
     Angie Petkovic, from APT Marketing, said: "We were very disappointed with what happened, which is why we've worked so hard to get someone else involved. It's such a fantastic project, it's just what the Forest needs and in the right hands it will be brilliant."
     Cinderbury had been open for just three months when the cash ran out, following a series of setbacks. One of the problems was that it took longer than expected to gain planning permission for the venture, which meant its opening was delayed. The site attracted 1,000 visitors over the summer, way down on its targets, but all three former directors believe the project - which has most of the infrastructure in place - can be made a success.
     The Iron Age Centre was opened officially in August when TV presenter John Craven and his Countryfile team visited the site for its launch. It not only aimed to give people an alternative holiday but to provide a fun and educational excursion back to the Iron Age, even if just for the day.

Source: The Citizen, This is Gloucestershire (26 January 2006)