Gosport town centre revamps help restore heritage with £20,000 more to be spent

The project's flagship scheme is the restoration of the Royal Arms Hotel's, with historic buildings elsewhere in the town centre also having their frontages redeveloped.

The work is using funding from the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) programme – led by Gosport Borough Council and Hampshire Cultural Trust with £1.86 million of government funding from Historic England. The four-year programme aims to transform high street buildings and set up new creative, cultural, residential and commercial opportunities.

The Royal Arms, a Grade II listed building on Stoke Road, has had its decorative wrought iron and stained-glass canopy restored, along with other renovation work.

Five buildings in the High Street and Stoke Road conservation areas including Blitz Photography and Masons Barber Shop have benefited from the work so far with brickwork repairs, new doors, new signs and more.

Applications are now closed for the Historic England-funded shopfront grants. However, the council is planning to use its own funds to make £200,000 worth of grants available in the future.

SEE ALSO: Property firm starts campaign for staff to raise awareness of menopause

The HSHAZ team is also working with architects, sign writers and business owners to increase the take-up of traditional hand-painted signs, which have been installed on five roads, in a bid to brighten up and enhance the character of the town centre.

Cllr Peter Chegwyn, Leader of the Council, said: ‘It's great to see this work gathering pace and making a real difference to the town centre. As well as helping to restore historic buildings, it's helping to promote the town centre's unique heritage.’

‘The council is keen to continue improving the appearance of historic buildings in our town centre. To help achieve this it has earmarked a further £200,000 for heritage grants to help local shops and businesses restore historic features and improve their shopfronts and heritage buildings.’

Rachel James, HSHAZ lead at Historic England, added: ‘This is an exciting time for Gosport as changes start to be seen along Stoke Road and North Cross Street through the High Street Heritage Action Zone.

‘By revitalising the historic character of our buildings we contribute to people’s pride of place and understanding of the built environment around us all.’

Businesses interested in renewing their signs can contact [email protected].