A bid for £2,5million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for restoration and an extension at Ramsgate’s Clock House building has been denied.
The Grade II* listed Clock House – where the maritime museum is based- is part of Thanet council’s Levelling Up plans for the town and has been allocated £3.36m out of a £19.8m pot.
The initial designs for the project were on display at the public engagement event held in July this year at the Crane Shed in Ramsgate Harbour.
In August 2023, the council, in partnership with the Ramsgate Heritage Regeneration Trust (RHRT), submitted the bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) requesting £2.5million, to extend the Clock House building to provide additional exhibition space and to partially fund the restoration of the existing building.
The bid also included £500,000 to deliver heritage development and activities.
Today (Thursday 14 December), NLHF has confirmed this funding bid was unsuccessful.
Cllr Rick Everitt, Leader of Thanet District Council, said: “Though the announcement from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is a setback, we are committed to bringing the much-loved Clock House back to life as a heritage hub for Ramsgate.
“I know how disappointed the Ramsgate Heritage Regeneration Trust will be at this outcome, but I want to reassure them, and the town of Ramsgate, that we will work with them to ensure the project is a success.
“Although we won’t have the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we will be researching other funding opportunities instead and we can do this in a timeframe that suits the project.
“Work will now start to review the scope of the scheme, within the existing Levelling Up funding allocation.”
John Walker, Chair of the Ramsgate Society, said: “We are disappointed by this result, of course, after all of the hard work that has gone into this project so far.
“We are committed to delivering a maritime heritage hub for Ramsgate, and will continue our efforts, alongside Thanet District Council and the Ramsgate Heritage Regeneration Trust, to bring it to fruition.”
The Clock House building in Ramsgate Royal Harbour had been leased to the Steam Museum Trust since 2012 but is now back under the council’s management.
Since its return, the council has assessed the building for urgent repairs and has started work to repair electrical wiring to enable lighting and temporary heaters, which will reduce potential impact to the b structure over the winter.
The Clock House was placed on the Historic England Buildings at Risk register in 2019 and a number of exhibits were lost or damaged in a fire in November 2021.
The Maritime Museum previously displayed a large number of items, until its closure in 2021. Many of these were on loan from the HMS Stirling Castle collection. These items have been returned to the National Royal Navy Museum for conservation. It is planned that a number of the items will be returned to the museum when the renovation is complete and there are suitable conditions for their display.
