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April news
Local organisation strikes gold with new community asset
Learning Links (Southern) Ltd, a local educational charity, has learned this week that it is one of only 37 organisations to secure, in principle, a grant of nearly £1m from the Community Assets fund towards the transformation of the historic and locally significant Treadgolds Museum into a vibrant heritage centre and community learning hub.
The Treadgolds Museum comprises a series of linked Victorian and Georgian buildings, located in Bishops Street, Portsea. The Treadgolds family, who owned the buildings until 1988, ran an ironmongers shop, a forge and iron wholesalers for over 200 years on the same site. The forge and ironmongers remain intact, complete with stock, and were open to the public as a museum until 2003, when the owners Hampshire County Council were forced to close the museum for health and safety reasons.
This success is a significant landmark in years of work by Learning Links - with the full backing of Portsmouth City Council, Hampshire County Council and local people - to achieve wider recognition of the special status of the Treadgolds Museum, to raise the money to redevelop the partially Grade 2 listed buildings and bring them back into use for the benefit of the local community.
Plans for the redevelopment include cost effective office space for small voluntary and community organisations, heritage space and display of artefacts, an education room, a community run café, meeting and venue hire space, a gift shop and the reintroduction of a working Blacksmith’s forge, offering opportunities for training and apprenticeships in traditional trades and crafts.
Janet de Bathe, Chief Executive of Learning Links and the main project initiator, said: "A great deal of work has been done over the past two years to get us to this point and there is little doubt that Treadgolds offers us a fantastic opportunity as a local organisation. Competition for this money was fierce and we are truly thrilled that the Office of the Third Sector agreed with our vision for this significant local landmark. The development of Treadgolds into a multi use centre ensures its long-term future as a heritage attraction, whilst at the same time offering the community and voluntary organisations a range of training and support activities underpinned by social history"
Stephen Baily, Head of Cultural Services for the city council said: "This is a fantastic achievement for Learning Links - one of only 37 organisations to secure funding from the asset transfer fund to renovate Treadgolds, a significant building and important part of the city's heritage. Portsmouth's museums service has supported the project in its development and the building's new lease of life will be great for the city, increasing the range of cultural and visitor experiences on offer for residents and visitors."
With the valued support of key partners, it is anticipated that the new Treadgolds Centre could be open to the public as early as late 2010.
With the promise of preservation of a key part of Portsea’s history for generations to come, and new and exciting community facilities, we expect today’s announcement to generate renewed pride and aspiration within the Portsea community, as well as the wider Portsmouth area.
Date : 08 April 2008
