Dismay as volunteers ‘locked out’ of historic Eastney Engine Houses despite playing a key role in keeping the site alive

The Eastney Engine Houses, including the 1904 Gas Engine House, are part of Portsmouth City Museums. After years of neglect, volunteer engineers brought the old machinery back to life.

Until May 2024, the public could see the engines running and learn about their history. The team were on site up to nine days a month and welcomed visitors five times monthly with working displays.

But since May 2024, access has been reduced to just one static open day per month, and volunteers are banned from operating the engines. The council changed the gate locks in early 2025 without warning or consultation, cutting the team off entirely.

The volunteers say the Council’s Health and Safety Unit had already approved a system in which they could work safely without supervision. A designated manager was appointed, health and safety procedures were in place, and public access was risk assessed and signed off in 2019.

Problems began when Portsmouth Museums removed the designated manager, saying their own “safety checks, competency checks and risk assessments” needed to be updated. Despite these promises, no new manager has been appointed, no risk assessments have been signed off, and public demonstrations remain suspended over a year later.

Volunteers attended council-funded training in October 2024 and even submitted a full Safety Management System in 2022, but say they’ve received no response.

One volunteer described the training as a “waste of time, money and resources” since nothing changed afterwards. The council has admitted that there is “no implication that volunteers are doing anything inappropriate.”

A council spokesperson said the Eastney Engine Houses are “historically significant” and that in May 2024 volunteers were told of a “temporary pause” in machinery use and unsupervised access due to staff changes and safety reviews. Volunteers were only to access the site with staff present and were barred from using power tools or operating machinery alone, in line with “standard museum practice.”

They said volunteers still join monthly maintenance and open days. Although risk assessments were rejected by a member of the volunteer team in March, the council remains committed to a “constructive way forward.”

They added plans were underway to recruit a “qualified lead engineer” to ensure safety, support volunteers, and “increase public access and learning opportunities,” and thanked the volunteers for their “dedication.”