MEMBERS of the public will have the chance to have a good ‘snoop around’ inside an old watch tower usually behind closed doors.
The East Looe Town Trust (ELTT) has plans to rescue and refurbish the Grade II Listed Old Lifeboat Station and Watchtower on the waterfront – and there will be a public exhibition on Friday and Saturday (Sep 10 and 11).
People will be able to explore all three floors of the tower during the open days, but the plans themselves will be on display on the ground floor, which has easy access.
The Old Lifeboat Station was opened in 1866 and served seafarers through until 1930, when the Ryder, a sailing and pulling lifeboat, was superseded by motor powered boats from Fowey and Plymouth. The three boats that served Looe Bay during the early years were manned by generations of local men – many of them from the families of the present day RNLI crew.
The building has stood firm in the face of decades of wind and storm, and has seen various uses over the years, but is now no longer suitable for modern-day use.
A feasibility study was carried out on the Watchtower in 2017 and a programme of public consultation began, then a condition survey of the boatshed revealed similar structural problems.
The ELTT says that substantial grant funding will be essential for the heavy expenditure required to bring the building back up to safe and modern standard.
Conservation architects LePage were commissioned to propose ideas for the future use of the whole building, and these were circulated to groups in Looe just days before the March 2020 lockdown, and before a planned public open day could take place.
Now, the Trust can move forward with plans that will see the building once again put to good use, while shining a light on the link between today’s Looe families and the brave lifeboatmen who went before.
The Watchtower will become the ELTT office on the first and second floors. On the ground floor, a Looe Lifeboat Crew Room Museum will be created, using digital technology and objects already owned by the Looe Museum or on loan from the Project Ryder Trust. The Trust says it envisages either low- or no-cost easy access entry from the seafront, to encourage spur of the moment visitors.
The boat shed will be restored and updated with staff facilities and the intention is to lease it for use by local artists and craftspeople.
The Trust believes the plans will not only provide a sustainable use for this historic building, but will also help to boost the ambience on the seafront and the trade for businesses in the vicinity.
ELTT Chairman Brian Galipeau said: “We hope that people will look in to explore the Watchtower for themselves and comment on our plans for it.”
The open day timings are 10am- 4pm on Friday and 12 noon-4pm on Saturday.