News, sport and entertainment from the Bournemouth Echo and Dorset Echo.

Nothe Fort bids for £1.5m lottery cash

From the Echo, first published Wednesday 16th Jan 2002.

WEYMOUTH'S Nothe Fort is to submit a second bid for lottery funds to try to raise £1.5 million to save the historic site from falling into the sea.

The fort's original £2 million bid in 1999 was turned down by lottery bosses but it gained a sympathetic response and encouragement to try again.

Curator Alisdair Murray said: "English Heritage, ourselves, architects and Weymouth and Portland council met to consider the latest situation and I confirmed it this week with the fort's architects.

"We now plan to submit a £1.5 million lottery bid, but we will also get on immediately with the most needy work.

"This will particularly involve the Victorian iron lattice beam supporting the balcony area of the main courtyard which is in urgent need of attention.

"Since any lottery bid must include an element of financial support by the applicant, we hope that our work for the beam can be included as part of our share."

He added that the original bid had included estimates for hauling away hundreds of thousands of tons of earth which had been dumped against the fort's walls at the turn of the century.

Mr Murray said: "We believe we don't have to do this now because a simple membrane system a few feet into the earth will enable water leaching into the fort to be safely channelled away.

"This will help us reduce our bid to £1.5 million which we hope will greatly increase our chance of success."

Should the bid succeed then the main work would include repairs to the ramparts, gun emplacements and gun lockers, stabilisation of the battery observation post, general masonry repairs and installing a lift for the disabled.

Events held in the fort's courtyard will help generate cash towards the restoration projects.

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