New Milton heritage centre hits buffers again as stability fears threaten one-year delay
CONCERNS over the stability of New Milton’s disused railway station master’s house could further delay plans for a heritage centre by up to a year.
The £100,000 project – known as No.1 New Milton because the house was the town’s first building in 1886 – has already suffered numerous setbacks, including the pandemic and funding uncertainty.
First mooted over five years ago, the idea is to create a free-to-access attraction telling the town’s history.
It was spearheaded by current mayor Cllr Keith Craze and is backed by the Milton Heritage Society.
But a recent town council amenities committee meeting heard Network Rail was carrying out a periodic review of the building to check it was structurally safe.
This process is likely to take up to 12 months.
Speaking to the A&T after the meeting, Cllr Craze explained concerns had been sparked by an adjoining wall which was found to be unstable.
“When you consider the building dates back to 1886 and has been empty for over 30 years, it’s not good,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there will be a further delay while Network Rail carries out periodic reviews.”
The mayor was still hopeful No.1 New Milton would eventually open at the premises, however.
“It would make common sense for the heritage centre to be there, but we will have to see what arises from the reviews,” he added.
Milton Heritage Society chair Nick Saunders said: “Whilst the latest delay in the former station master’s house becoming available for use is a disappointment, the Milton Heritage Society are determined that there will be a heritage centre created in our town which will become an asset to the community.”
It comes after the A&T reported last November that “significant structural defects” were discovered by South Western Railway during external and internal refurbishments.
These forced Network Rail to make design amendments, but the town council had hoped works would commence in January this year.
Earlier in 2022, the centre’s completion had been pushed back from spring to summer after a wall had to be reattached to the main building on the London-bound platform.
At the time, Cllr Craze stressed the matter was not serious and Network Rail would foot the cost of the work.
Plans are for No. 1 New Milton to include exhibits in each room of the ground floor, with a learning centre in a large room upstairs for schools and youth groups. This will also feature further heritage displays.
As provision of disabled access to the first floor is not possible, cameras are set to feed footage of exhibits to monitors downstairs.
SWR has contributed a “significant amount” towards the project’s total expected cost of up to £100,000, with funding also coming from the National Railway Heritage Society.
Further sums have come from developers’ contributions and local donations, with taxpayers footing up to £20,000 on a match-funding basis.