Help us preserve a piece of Havant's railway history
A small piece of a town's history may be lost unless urgent support is offered to bring it back to its former glory.
The old Havant signal box is a Grade II listed building which, supporters believe, could draw railway enthusiasts and tourists to the town if given plenty of care and attention.
For several years the Havant and Bedhampton Community Board has been fighting to retain the building and there was talk of raising funds to move it to another area.
That idea has been scrapped and the intention is to keep it where it is but the public's help is needed to do it.
David Webb, chairman of a sub-group of the Havant and Bedhampton Community Board, said: 'This is a very important part of Havant's heritage.
'It is a gem that needs to be smartened up and at the moment we're trying to enthuse people to get involved in the project.
'We must form a trust which we are naming the Havant Signal Box Preservation Society and once that is set up we can apply for funding from a number of organisations.
'We want to do some modifications and turn the first floor into a railway museum.'
A similar project in St Albans, Hertfordshire, cost 200,000 and although it is a lot of money Mr Webb says he believes it will be worth it.
He added: 'We have already applied for a small amount of funding from Hampshire County Council via Cllr Ann Buckley which is helping us get going.
'Now we really need railway minded people in the local area to step forward and make this idea a reality.
'Once that is done we will make a formal request to Network Rail to transfer this asset to the trust.'
The building, which has stood since 1876 until Network Rail modernised its signalling in 2007, is just north of Havant railway station.
Historic images which capture the signal box in its hey-day are available online at havant.gov.uk/havant-2879.
Anyone interested in joining the trust should contact Mr Webb on (023) 9248 3162 or email Dwebb7@sky.com
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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