Portsmouth faces crushing blow as £3.9m bid for new Royal Marines Museum fails - again

In a crushing blow for the city, finance tsars at the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) refused to back the plan for a new site honouring the illustrious history of the Royal Navy Commandos.

It’s the second time the organisation has rejected a cash application by heritage bosses at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN).

The latest snub could be the final nail in the coffin of a three-year saga to try and secure a new home in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for the ‘world-leading’ military attraction.

It comes as the organisation faces its deepest financial crisis in a generation as it struggles to deal with the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, which has forced all its sites to close.

Professor Dominic Tweddle, director general at the NMRN, insisted he was committed to building a new Marines museum.

However, speaking to The News in February, he previously warned such an attraction may not be based in Portsmouth and instead located at one of its sites in the north of the UK.

Reacting to the latest rejection from the NLHF, Prof Tweddle added: ‘This was of course bitterly disappointing particularly at a time when the excellent work of our armed forces in supporting civilian services is never more apparent.’

Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth City Council, was shocked by the cash snub and said the NMRN would need to go back to the drawing board.

He added: ‘This is bitterly disappointing for the city. The Royal Marines deserve to have a museum to tell their incredibly important story, which is one that the whole country deserves to know.’

Stephen Morgan, Portsmouth South MP, said he would lobby the government for more support to protect the city’s ‘cultural assets’.

He added: ‘The Royal Marines Museum tells a powerful story of great significance to our city and our nation.

‘It is therefore disappointing that the NLHF has refused a second consecutive application that would have been used to secure its future at a new home in our historic dockyard.’

The News understands the decision by lottery executives was revealed to the NMRN early last month – just days before the charity furloughed much of its national workforce to save cash as it shut up shop during the lockdown.

Speaking from his home, Prof Tweddle added the funding situation facing the organisation was ‘unique’.

‘The closure of our sites in Belfast, Hartlepool, Yeovilton, Portsmouth and Gosport has left us with significant challenges,’ he said.

The former museum site, at the old Royal Marines barracks in Eastney, was closed in 2017. The site has not yet been sold.

Prof Tweddle said the NMRN had made ‘significant investment’ in its hi-tech storage site at the historic dockyard, where the Royal Marines collection will now be housed.

‘When completed this will provide public access in a way that has never before been possible,’ he said.

Stuart McLeod, director London and south at the NLHF, said £55m had been invested into Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in previous grants.

‘We know this will be disappointing news for NMRN. Unfortunately we have a very high level of competition for grants at every stage of our application process and we are unable to support all the applications we receive,’ he said.

‘We will support and advise NMRN as they consider the future of this project. Our committee, which takes decisions on funding, have been clear they would be happy to consider a further application in the future.’

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