The Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) has secured a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant of £685,000 to restore the iconic Devonport Column.
Last year, I wrote a piece here - Devonport Column and Foulston's Devonport - that mentioned the Real Ideas Organisation's funding application to restore and reopen the Column, which was one of the structures at the heart of architect John Foulston's civic redevelopment of Devonport in the early 1800s. Now the RIA's application has been accepted.
From the press release:
DEVONPORT SETS SIGHTS HIGH WITH SECURED FUNDING TO RESTORE COLUMN
The Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) has secured a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant of £685,000 to restore the iconic Devonport Column.
Part of an £800,000 funding package, the Grant will enable RIO to fully renovate and develop the Column to become a heritage and tourist destination, giving the public access to the top of the viewing platform for the first time in 50 years.
124 feet above street level, the viewing platform will command some of the best views across Plymouth, but it won’t be the only attraction at the site. Plans also include establishing a nature reserve, creating a rose garden and building a public plaza, framed with a two year strategy of marketing, training, learning and participation.
What’s more, in line with Devonport’s history as a hub for science and innovation, an integral part of the Column redevelopment scheme will be the introduction of new digital technologies and a wireless internet system into the Column. In partnership with Plymouth’s strong creative technology sector, this will allow the use of mobile-based games, augmented reality and interactive 3D building projections to bring heritage learning to new and wider audiences.
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The Column restoration project is the second phase of a wider regeneration programme led by RIO, which follows the award-winning redevelopment of the Devonport Guildhall as a social enterprise and cultural centre in 2010. Already established as a key business and cultural venue in the City, the Guildhall has served and supported the local community while bringing over 30,000 new visitors to Devonport in its first year.
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The project will now enter a more detailed planning stage with LePage Architects with work due to begin on site in the new-year. It is planned that the project will be completed and open to the public by October 2012, in time for a Halloween celebration to remember.
See the Real Ideas Organisation site for further information; the Column's progress can also be followed on Twitter (@DevonportColumn) and Facebook (Devonport Column).
- RG
Devonport Column secures funding
