Wilkinson Eyre and Make are on the shortlist to design visitor centre for Nottingham County Council as part of its bid for Lottery Fund Living Landmarks grant

A competition for a Sherwood Forest visitor centre has attracted some of the biggest names in UK architecture.

Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Make and Glen Howells Architects have all been shortlisted to design the complex. They are joined on the six-strong shortlist by Niall McLaughlin Architects, Richard Murphy Architects and Patel Taylor Architects.

The development is part of the ‘Sherwood Forest: Living Legend’ bid, that will be submitted by Nottinghamshire County Council to the final stage of the Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks grant programme.

The panel of judges, which included architect Steven Hodder, said they chose designs that balanced visitor experience with the environmental needs of a forest.

The proposed schemes will be displayed anonymously over the new year around Nottinghamshire and the shortlisted teams will present their schemes in January.

Each of the projects, costing up to £50m, will be submitted to Living Landmarks next May.

A panel of judges will then decide which projects should go through to a public vote. This will be televised nationally and a single grant will be awarded to the winner to take the project forward.