Project MotorHouse have been awarded a National Lottery grant of £49,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to partner with the Ramsgate Society and create a youth project.
Harbouring Hopes for Ramsgate will be centred on the town’s Royal Harbour and will involve 14 Year 8 students from the Royal Harbour Academy and 14 Year 8 students from Chatham and Clarendon Grammar.
Ramsgate Heritage Action Zone, Historic England and Pie Factory Music are also on board. The project will explore the skills needed to repair Ramsgate’s harbour, the training available and the job opportunities offered by the heritage sector in Kent and beyond.
Janet Fielding from Project MotorHouse. said: “We think it is a great way for young people to learn about their heritage as well as widening their career choices. There’s plenty of wonderful, historic sites in Kent and they all need maintenance and/or restoration.”
John Walker, chairman of the Ramsgate Society, added: “We were delighted to hear that the Project Motorhouse project, Harbouring Hopes for Ramsgate, has been approved by the Heritage Lottery Fund Young Roots Scheme. The Ramsgate Society is looking forward to working with Janet Fielding and her team to deliver this brilliant project which is designed to inform and inspire young people to consider careers in the heritage industry.
“We are confident that the project will enable a wider range of people to engage with Ramsgate’s heritage and the work of the Ramsgate Society”
The project will culminate in an exhibition at the Maritime Museum on Ramsgate Harbour. The students will produce the material for the exhibition by working with top local creative professionals such as photographer Mark McEvoy, Dan Whitehead of Roar Video, journalist and broadcaster Gemma Dempsey and Ben Morton who has produced exhibitions for the likes of Puma and Maserati.
The project is made possible by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Young Roots programme and by those who play the National Lottery.
