New lease of life for 1920s tram shelter
Grade II building has been refurbished
MEMORIES of yesteryear have been rekindled after a 1920s tram shelter was reconstructed.
Portsmouth City Council has refurbished and relocated the Grade II listed former shelter – and will soon be doing the same with a one hundred year old former bus inspector's kiosk.
The tram shelter was built in the 1920s and was originally located on the corner of Southsea Terrace and Western Parade, according to Historic England.
The last tram ran in 1936 but the shelter remained at the location until the 1980s when it was relocated to the seafront to act as a bus shelter in front of the aquarium, now the Blue Reef.
Sea and wind caused serious corrosion and a vehicle accident in 2016 resulted in the shelter being dismantled.
Colas have now rebuilt the shelter, which is one of the few surviving reminders of Portsmouth's tramways.
It has now been relocated more appropriately near the original tram route in Queen Street.
The city council’s heritage push has also seen plans to refurbish a former bus inspectors kiosk discovered a couple of years ago in Hester Road where the council's adoption service was based.
It was originally based in Guildhall Square, which was a major bus route, and moved in the 1970s when the Civic Offices were built.
When the kiosk has been restored, it will be relocated in the city centre and used as a light refreshment kiosk.
The kiosk could be located in Station Street opposite Portsmouth and Southsea train station if granted permission.
Councillor Steve Pitt, the council's deputy leader and member for culture, said: ‘I am pleased that we are able to give both the tram shelter and the bus inspectors kiosk a new lease of life in the city, preserving these historical structures for younger generations to enjoy.’