Blow for Southampton’s Aeronautica Museum plan?

Plans for an £8 million museum dedicated to the transport heritage of Southampton have
been dealt a blow with the news that Associated British Ports (ABP) – owners of Southampton Docks – were withdrawing their offer of a long term lease because of proposed redevelopment in the dock area. The museum plans included the potential for an operational tramway along the dockside with two Southampton trams – 11 and 38 – moved to the site last year in advance of the proposed development.

A redevelopment plan for the whole of Southampton’s waterfront area would appear
to be the catalyst for the withdrawal of the lease offer as it thought Berth 50 – where it was hoped Aeronautica would be opened – may now be needed to house a new dock for Red Funnel’s ferry operations to the Isle of Wight.

11 and 38 were moved to the site last summer and several other exhibits are also currently stored there in anticipation for the development of Aeronautica but they are all now in limbo whilst £500 million redevelopment plans for Southampton waterfront are developed by Morgan Sindell.

It is still hoped that Aeronautica will be able to go ahead in some form on the dockside – the project directors behind the idea for a museum say it must be by the water as they are planning on berthing several boats alongside the main museum building – with Councillors saying they “should” be able to relocate it.

Alan Jones, Museum Project Director, said: “If Aeronautica is to survive we need a
waterfront site, and that is now a challenge. I’m hopeful this might galvanise and prove to everyone the city deserves a major heritage site on the waterfront. Tourism is money.”

Unfortunately with the withdrawal of the long-term lease on the site the people behind
Aeronautica will be unable to progress any further with getting funding towards the £8 million development which rather leaves the whole project in limbo. As part of the plans it was suggested there may be an operational heritage tramway running alongside the dockside using the Southampton trams already moved to storage on the site. It is not known whether this plan would be able to be accommodated if Aeronautica is forced to move to another site.

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