Green light for Gosport Diving Museum revamp
The revamp of a unique Gosport museum has been given the green light – but concerns have been raised over it looking like Hollywood.
The plans for Gosport Diving Museum at Stokes Bay Road were put forward by the Historical Diving Society as the venue currently suffers from damp and water leaks.
The improvements, which needed permission from Gosport Borough Council’s planning department, will include installing interpretation boards for better visitor signposting, illuminated ‘Hollywood-type’ signs for advertising the museum, and internal and external works to improve the building’s access, footpaths and visitor flow around it.
The Hollywood-style free-standing letters with spotlights took longer to be approved than the internal and external works as there was discussion over the colour of the individual letters being black and the colour of the spotlights hopefully being white.
Council officers said it is only the letters that are illuminated, not the whole area and regulatory board
It’s great for Gosport borough and it’s about accessing it for the public
chair, Councillor Steve Hammond was told the lights would be low in wattage and not be changing colours.
Councillor Zoe Huggins said of the plans: “It’s great for Gosport borough and it’s about accessing it for the public.
“I just want to celebrate the amount of money that is brought to this project and bringing it back to life.”
Hampshire County Council has given the museum a £15,0000 grant to help fund the revamp.
The museum, in a Grade II-listed building which was built in the 1860s primarily to defend against a sea-borne attack, opened in 2001.
It is currently closed with plans to reopen next summer, and is the only museum of its kind in the UK.