Lifeboat Museum: News & Next Meeting

Many thanks to John Parr for this latest update concerning the possible Hoylake Lifeboat Museum:

UPDATE: LIFEBOAT MUSEUM PROGRESS

First of all, some excellent news. Hylgar Properties, better known through the Director Tony Crane who effectively saved Hoylake Town Hall and Central Hall, have offered to purchase the lifeboat station buildings and rent them long-term at a pepper-corn rent for the purposes of a Lifeboat Museum.

This is fabulous news. Tony Crane is known to many locally, has a proven track record and is a person of integrity. Tony’s interests are in Hoylake and in supporting a not-for-profit initiative able to cover its own costs….which we know we have to do.

Secondly, a formal offer has been made to Mersey Docks & Harbour Company/Peel for the buildings. I have followed this up with a personal letter to John Whittaker, Chairman of the Peel Group.

Having met our MP, Esther McVey, I am now presenting to the Wirral Borough Council “Excellence Committee” on Wednesday evening. Hoylake councillor John Hale has led a group of fellow councillors who have asked for the WBC decision to sell the neighbouring triangle of land to be reconsidered. It is vitally important that the current offers to use the buildings for commercial purposes, possibly as a carpet store, are not accepted by WBC. It is hoped that the Council will now recognise that the land will simply not be “redundant”.

FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING

Clearly we need to form an operational group, a Committee. With this in mind, I have booked a meeting room in the Hoylake Community Centre for THIS THURSDAY, 9th DECEMBER at 7pm. The weather forecast is for it to be much warmer by then which should make getting to Hoyle Road a lot safer. We will meet in the Heswall Room.

I will use the meeting to report back on Wednesday’s all-important meeting with the Council. I would also hope that we can appoint a committee and develop a plan of action.

We will need the enthusiasm and support of individuals such as yourselves. Over the course of a project such as this we will need skills and experience in:

• civil engineering
• marine engineering and boat restoration
• fund raising
• administration and record keeping
• running a charitable trust
• accounting and finance
• historical research
• museum curation and presentation
• communications, press relations & marketing
• web-site design and management

I do hope you will be able to get along on Thursday and I would thank those who have already indicated that they will try to get along to Wallasey Town Hall for the Excellence Committee meeting on Wednesday 8th. Just a reminder, this starts in Committee Room 2 and is expected to last around an hour

We have every prospect of saving the old Lifeboat Station and securing its future as Hoylake’s very own Lifeboat Museum. Thank you for youir support so far. I hope you will remain engaged in what should be a wonderfully enjoyable project.

John Parr