A new £5.3 million visitor centre will be built at Sherwood Forest Country Park after a landmark deal was signed.
The contract has been agreed between Nottinghamshire County Council and a consortium led by the RSPB, which will build the centre and also take over management of the popular park.
And work on the new attraction will start within a year in time for an opening ceremony in late 2017.
This is a significant and exciting moment
County councillor John Knight, Committee Chairman for Culture, said, “This is a significant and exciting moment for our world-famous Sherwood Forest country park, Robin Hood and the Major Oak.
“We are delighted to be working with the RSPB which has a strong reputation for its excellence in conservation management and delivering award-winning visitor centres nationally.”
The new consortium includes RSPB, Thoresby Estate, Continuum Attractions and the Sherwood Forest Trust.
Picture: The old centre is seen as outdated and in need of an overhaul
The council will remain responsible for running the current visitor facilities and country park through the planning and development phase until the new centre opens.
The design team will get the opinions of local community members and stake holders, and will then seek planning permission next year.
Michael Copleston, speaking on behalf of the RSPB-led consortium, said: “We are really excited to be taking this forward and will now work towards the design and planning of the new facilities.”
Building could start around December 2016 and the attraction will be open to the public for winter 2017. The visitor centre will be located at Forest Corner, close to Edwinstowe village.
Redeveloping the old council-run facilities is seen as key to the future of building tourism in Nottinghamshire.
Around 450,000 people a year visit the forest and current visitor centre, which dates back to the 1970s.
An overhaul has been in the pipeline for a decade after a number of other ideas fell through after funding and planning problems.
Alan Rhodes, leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “The RSPB are here for the long haul, we have a 20 year contract with them and we’re very happy we’re working with them.”
The authority hopes to save around £8m over the life of the deal, as the RSPB will take over the running of the attraction from the authority.
More information about the Sherwood Forest visitor centre and country park is available on the county council website.
