Plans For Old Lifeboat Station
June 25, 2009 by John · 8 Comments
The Liverpool Daily Post this morning reports that Wirral Council and Mersey Docks & Harbour Company are aiming to find an appropriate new use for the whole site.
Mersey Docks & Harbour own the building whilst the adjacent car park is owned by the council. Some locals are keen to see the building turned into a lifeboat museum. It is quite likely that other interested parties will be thinking about converting the building into a bar/restaurant and property developers may consider the site suitable for apartments.
What do you think? Feel free to comment.
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I was lead to believe it was going to be a RNLI shop/museum and this is the obvious choice, the adjacent ground, called ‘car park’ in the above article was the site of a Victorian shelter with seating. But due to vandalism it was pulled down, not so long ago, which is a shame.
I think Peel Holdings now own it.
Who will fund the Museum???
Reckon it could go to the highest bidder and would not rule out Licensed Premises!!!
I have had ANONYMOUS CALLS about the possibility asking about the chances of such premises succeeding.
We will lead the campaign against this but—
pity the R.N.L.I cannot have it as tearooms, ice-cream and sell fund raising merchandise in it as in other seaside locations, you can travel the length of the prom somedays and unless the ice cream van is at Bennets Lane there is nothing on offer for a visitor.
Obviously the rumour circulating about Peel Holdings was wrong when I read the Papers Report.
I think status quo–Lifeboat Museum/interpretation centrem That building and surrounding area should be left alone with the possibility of the shelter being restored!
Too much of Hoylake’s history and culture has gone down the pan in recent years. We have a lifeboat history to be proud of…….let’s not lose that too!
An RNLI Museum would be something Hoylake residents could take great pride in. Bars and restaurants come and go in a matter of months. A lifeboat museum tells the history of Hoylake and its super people now and over years past. It must happen, you can’t let this go the way of so much else in Hoylake.
We have very little left of what belongs to the people of Hoylake we must demand that a decent, well thought out museum should take pride of place on the Promenade.
While ideas of the old lifeboat station becoming a museum are very noble I have to ask the thorny question that in these currently financially challenging times how could it be funded?
The foot-fall [number of visitors] along the promenade would appear to be insufficient to support an RNLI Museum and/or Shop and I’m sure this is why the building is now up for sale as the RNLI and current owners [Peel?] realise this.
That said if would be a disaster if a Lifeboat Station that dates back to 1803, making it one of the oldest on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, were to be demolished to be replaced by a faceless apartment block.
So we need to look to protect it!
I’m guessing that the fact that the land and building fall within the Kings Gap Conservation Area will not solely be sufficient to stop our LA Planning Dept approving permission for demolition?!
Perhaps we should advise English Heritage that it is a building of historic interest at risk so that the oldest parts of the lifeboat station should be ’spot listed’. Listing ensures that the architectural and historic interest of the building is carefully considered before any alterations, either outside or inside, are agreed.
Just seen on this website….
http://oldwirral.com/hoylake_lifeboat.html
“….in 1899 a new lifeboat station was constructed at cost of £1098:4s:9d, and the old one was demolished for £16:3s:2d ”
So the oldest part of the remaining building is 110 years old