Multi-million pound Lottery bid to build Titanic dream

11:30am Tuesday 7th October 2008

By Peter Law

TOURISM chiefs are set to bid for up to £5m of funding for an ambitious multi-million pound attraction commemorating the Titanic disaster.

Southampton City Council will outline its vision to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), which could contribute up to one third of the £15m bill for the final design and construction.

The climb-aboard replica of the doomed liner is the first phase of the proposed £30m Southampton Heritage Centre.

If the plan goes ahead, doors would open in April 2012 on the 100th anniversary of the tragedy – three and half years away.

The council anticipates building work, which includes glass extensions to the roof of the Civic Centre, to take between 18 months and two years.

Tourists will experience life onboard on the voyage, learn about the devastating impact on the victims’ families and watch live re-enactments with actors.

It’s believed the hi-tech virtual tour will attract more than 150,000 visitors from around the world each year.

The HLF will announce in January if Southampton’s bid has been successful, however the council knows it would still be expected to pay for the majority of the feasibility and build.

The council is drawing up a list of funding sources, which include selling off prized assets within the culture and heritage portfolio such as the sale of an acre plot of council land, the Lower High Street site.

The Wool House, currently home to the Southampton Maritime Museum, could also be sold to developers.

Councillor John Hannides, Cabinet member for leisure, culture and heritage, said: “The decision has been made that we want to proceed to the next stage of making a bid.

“However, the city council will not look to start development work until such time as all the funding is identified and in place. That would only happen if we know that we have got the assets that we can rationalise that would assist in raising the funds.”

A second bid for funding would need to be launched to pay for phase two of the museum, which would celebrate Southampton’s history – from King Canute to Jane Austen and the Second World War.

English Heritage has already given the green light to the project, which would see the old magistrates’ courts and central police station gutted and transformed into a state-of-the-art facility.

It is likely just one court will be preserved, while the other two will be demolished to make way for several permanent and temporary exhibitions focusing on the history of the docks, the city’s dynamic inventors and the Second World War.

Earlier this year, the HLF awarded £21m to Portsmouth’s Mary Rose Museum – but the fund’s budget has since been substantially slashed because of the London 2012 Olympics.