Funding campaign launched to complete D-Day landing craft tank restoration so it can move to Southsea

LCT 7074 – a huge 193ft vessel – was due to take pride of place outside the D-Day Story Museum on Southsea seafront in readiness for the VE Day 75 commemorations on May 8.

However delays caused by the coronovirus lockdown caused restoration costs to spiral - costs which the council now hopes can be covered by a bid for National Lottery funding as well as an online Crowdfunding page.

Cabinet member for culture, Cllr Steve Pitt, said: ‘When any project is delayed it always incurs additional costs. Things like scaffolding and protective coverings still need to be paid for.

‘The total cost of the project is around £1.2m. We are around three-quarters of the way there but we need help raising the last few hundred thousand pounds to fill the gap. Rather than hoping for the best we are trying to be proactive.’

The council is holding a cabinet meeting on July 17 at which it will be decided whether to pursue a National Lottery funding bid. Also involved in the bidding process are project partners the Royal Navy and the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Cllr Pitt added: ‘The National Lottery has set up contingency funding for projects affected by lockdown and this definitely applies to us. This is an unprecedented event which has interrupted a national project.’

While Cllr Pitt is hopeful of securing the additional money he was keen to stress the restoration project will be completed - even without any new external funding.

‘We are as confident of securing the funding as any arts project can be at the moment. Having come this far, completing the project is not in doubt. It would just be good to secure some outside funding to cover the costs and complete the restoration and relocation sooner rather than later,’ said Cllr Pitt.

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The cabinet member for culture was hopeful of being able to land LCT 7074 on Southsea beach in August ready to be unveiled to the public as the museum’s newest attraction by the end of September. However, landing the the vessel is ‘dependent on having the right high tides’.

The 300-tonne amphibious vessel, which was used for landing tanks during the conflict, will provide a fully interactive experience for visitors.

Cllr Pitt said: ‘People will be able to board the ship, see the facilities and walk along the walkways and ramp - it will give a real feel of what it must have been like approaching the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.’

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