Plans to breathe new life into derelict waterfront 150-year-old Rum Store submitted to Gosport Borough Council

The Rum Store in Victoria Quay is part of the waterfront renovation project that has received money from the government’s levelling up fund and is set to transform the historic waterfront. UK Docks is using £11m to help bring back to life the grade II-listed Rum Store building at Victoria Quay. It was at the heart of the Royal Navy supply chain during Victorian times when sailors were given ‘rum rations’ during their service in what was the biggest fleet in the world.

In a listed building consent application, Ben Mason, of owners UK Docks Marine Services, has proposed partial demolition to the roof and first floor with repairs and improvements to the 7,000 square metre Rum Store site to prepare the building for its next design stage.

As previously reported by The News, tenders were invited this summer for the £8.5 million redevelopment of the Grade II-listed building by UK Docks Marine Services for repairs, alteration and refurbishment works and improvements to the building and land around it.

The Rum Store is at the heart of a successful Gosport Borough Council-led bid to secure £18m from the Government’s Levelling-Up Fund for its Reconnecting Historic Gosport Waterfront regeneration programme with the site’s redevelopment helping to create better walking routes between the town centre and the waterfront and increase footfall connecting the new route to Gosport’s historic fortifications.

The current proposal includes removing the parapet from the two-storey section of the building, installing a slate roof, repointing external walls and patch repointing internal walls and replacing four windows and undertaking repairs to the remaining windows.

Work will also include raising seven internal lintels and doors by 150 mm along the first floor, removing all post-war rainwater goods serving the flat roof and removing internal downpipes found within the central area, and removing mechanical and electrical services.

Pritchard Architecture’s design and planning statement said the building had been left derelict for 30 years. Since its closure much of the site has been developed into a mixture of uses through a combination of new build schemes and the careful repair, conservation and re-use of many heritage assets.

The south-east corner of Royal Clarence Yard was retained by the Ministry of Defence until 2018 when it was released to help revitalise the area by allowing development along Gosport’s waterfront.

During the planning application process work has been undertaken to document and chronicle the significance of this historical building with a statement of significance and a report on the building’s history broken down into six phases.

The first phase started by 1831 shows its humble beginnings and lists how the building has been adapted from Victorian times, through its bombing after World War II to the present day.

The design and access statement provides a ‘statement of significance’ that is a summary of its cultural and heritage relevance. It said: “The significance of the Rum Store derives from its setting within the Royal Clarence Yard. It forms an important part of the history of the Royal Navy, as part of one of only two purpose-built victualling yards, in use for over 150 years, the building forms important historical evidence.”

It also shows how the demand for different food and drinks changed within the Navy, particularly the change from beer to rum. The application reference 24/00305/LBA was received and validated by Gosport Borough Council planning on September 13 and is due to be decided by planning chiefs by Nov 8.