A National Lottery Heritage Fund grant is hard won so we were especially thrilled to learn we have been successful with a recent bid for £141,000 and to be interviewed by Laura James on The Voice radio on Monday 13th March.
The funding will support a project that spans 18 months and will see us finalise our plans for the future of the ship, expand our audiences and embrace some new developments which will help our environmental credentials.
Our chairman, John Puddy, is absolutely thrilled and commented “It was an astounding result and enables us to take the next crucial steps in our development. We are extremely grateful to the NLHF for continuing to invest in our future. What’s more we’re going to be able to offer two new roles, enabling people to take paid work with us, which is an immediate boost for the area as well as the Trust and its heritage ship.”
The two roles are being advertised shortly and we hope to employ people by the end of April or early May.
The development of our plans will involve everyone, from members and patrons to visitors and volunteers so do keep a look out for further news. The first stage will be to commission a study into the feasibility of SS Freshspring going to sea again under her own power and carrying passengers. Naval architects will tell us how we need to adapt the ship’s infrastructure to make this safe by today’s standards. Once we have this in our hands, we’ll be able to combine the knowledge with all the possibilities outlined in our previous viability study and work out our plans for how we can be sustainable for many years to come.
There is a longer article in this month’s magazine with full details so do sign up today to receive a copy. (Membership is only £25 a year and entitles you to 4 magazines a year, discounts on events and free entry to the ship among other benefits).
Of course, our education and outreach work continues alongside other developments and we’re still fundraising for this aspect of our work so we are still extremely grateful for all local support as we carry on campaigning and appearing at events.
If you are interested in either of the paid roles or would like to volunteer with us or become a trustee drop an email to info@ssfreshspring.co.uk