Community / Owner of Unst’s ‘French cafe’ plans to create meteorite museum
NOT only is a spaceport proposed for Unst – but a meteorite museum is now being planned too.
The man behind the idea is Uyeasound based Fabien Kuntz, who runs a meteorite hunting company.
Among the items which could go on show in the small museum include ancient rock and pieces from the Moon.
Meanwhile Kuntz is now seeking retrospective change of use planning permission for a waterfront French themed outdoor ‘honesty’ cafe which he launched earlier this year.
The cafe, adjacent to Kuntz’s home next to the Uyeasound pier, allows people to pick up some French biscuits and a soft drink in the summer months – and eat whilst overlooking the sea – in return for some cash.
He said the project has proved popular with visitors to Unst.
But having installed decking and seating for the tourist season, Kuntz is now seeking retrospective change of use permission for a class three food and drink cafe.
Kuntz, who moved to Unst in 2017, also has a “rock shop” honesty box at the site – whilst a humorous “Unst weather rock” on the side of the cafe raises smiles.
In addition to some holiday accommodation, his big plan is a meteorite museum in a detached building at Pier House.
His company WWMeteorites undertakes trips to countries such as Tunisia, Spain and Qatar to search for meteorite stones before making them available to science and collectors.
“Basically, we will have 10 to 12 meteorites/specimens that the people will be able to see on display,” Kuntz said.
“Some will be the oldest rocks that we know on the solar system that are slightly older than the formation of earth itself.”
He would build an office and workshop on the floor above, with the hope to open the museum in the coming year or two.
It comes as Unst prepares to host satellite rocket launches at the SaxaVord Spaceport.
The aim is to carry out the first launches in 2022.
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