Gosport Diving Museum revamp latest: green light for new exhibition and signage

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A unique Gosport museum is a step closer to achieving its revamp as it has been granted permission for a new exhibit and external signage.

The Diving Museum at No 2 Battery in Stokes Bay Road is to have a 19th century diving observation bell as an external exhibit and new non-illuminated signage in the car park.

Councillor Kevin Casey said after the decision-making Gosport Borough Council regulatory board meeting that a cannon will be on one plinth and the observation diving bell will be placed at the other side in front of the museum.

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Gosport Diving Museum has been given the green light for a new exhibitGosport Diving Museum has been given the green light for a new exhibit
Gosport Diving Museum has been given the green light for a new exhibit | Sarah Standing

The council officer’s report published ahead of the meeting said the diving observation bell is 2.5 metres tall and 1.2 metres in diameter at its widest point and 0.8 metres at its narrowest. It will be placed on a 1.5-metre square concrete plinth, flush with existing ground levels, centred on a grassed area between the battery and Stokes Bay Road.

The three advertising boards will have information about the museum and one specifically with details about the outside exhibit. The sign on the entrance pathway, two metres high by 0.7 metres and 0.2 metres will display information about the museum. The second and third totem signs will be 1.1 metres high by one metre wide.

The observation diving bell exhibit coming to Gosport's Diving MuseumThe observation diving bell exhibit coming to Gosport's Diving Museum
The observation diving bell exhibit coming to Gosport's Diving Museum | Gosport Borough Council documents/LDRS

A three-month delay in lottery grant funding means the diving observation bell won’t be in place until September, and missing the summer trade, Cllr Peter Chegwyn (Lib Dem, Forton) told the meeting.

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Planning documents said, the grade-II listed No.2 Gun Battery, dating back to the 1860s, was built as part of the fortifications to protect Portsmouth Harbour. The structure was designed to house guns within casemates, with a series of ancillary rooms, and was further developed during the Second World War.

The museum, which has been closed for refurbishment and is due to reopen in mid-2025, showcases the history of deep sea diving. It has a collection of moer than 7,000 items from the ancient to the modern era, including the world’s first ever-diving helmet.

The planning application had to be brought before the regulatory board for a decision because the vice chair of the Historical Diving Society and Diving Museum director is a councillor.

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Councillor Kevin Casey is Alverstoke’s Conservative ward councillor and sits on the regulatory board panel – when these discussions took place and approval was granted, he left the room and was excluded from the decision-making process.

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