The Apsley Paper Trail, the charitable trust set up to create and operate The Paper Trail, has acquired the freehold to its 1.5 acre site at Apsley Mills near Hemel Hempstead.


The site includes the historic John Dickinson cottage, and The Paper Trail has also reached an agreement securing Frogmore Mill, formerly owned by the British Paper Company.


Chairman Peter Ingram said the mill "could be making paper on a commercial basis later on this month".


A target opening date of 2003 has been set for its opening to the general public, which will be the 200th anniversary of the installation of the first Fourdrinier machine at Apsley, but the office space within the cottage has already been filled, with Drewsen Special Papers among those in occupation.


Ingram said the cottage would be used for industry training courses and exhibitions, and that a national paper school was also being considered as part of the set-up.


Story by Andy Scott