Café proposed for former creationist museum building at The Hard
Plans for a new café named “Bellamy’s” on the site of the former creationist museum near The Hard have been submitted to Portsmouth planners.
Plans for the “Bellamy’s” café were submitted by agents JCSE Ltd on behalf of the applicants, NM Investments Ltd.
An application in October 2025 for a reconfigured commercial space on the ground floor with flats on the upper floors was granted consent in early February this year.
Following this, listed building consent and advertising consent applications were submitted on February 23.
Those plans reveal a banner for “Bellamy’s” on the shopfront, with other signs in the windows advertising coffee, breakfast and lunch.
The internal layout of “Bellamy’s” includes a large benched seating area, high bars with stools, window-side tables, a coffee bar/collection zone and a professional kitchen.
The plans also suggest the new eatery could be open from 7am to 4pm Monday to Friday, and 8am to 5pm at weekends.
The applicants, NM Investments, are behind several development projects in the city, including new flats on Albert Road and the Scotts Tap and Keller bar on Kings Street.
It is unclear whether this Bellamy’s is related to an existing café on the Isle of Wight or a French restaurant in Mayfair, London, of the same name.
The NM Investments website said the site, at 17–18 The Hard, would create a “substantial commercial space” with links to bus, train and ferry services, and within walking distance of Gunwharf Quays and the Historic Dockyard.
The building was the former home of the Genesis Expo Fossil Shop, which closed in 2020 and received criticism for promoting creationist arguments and rejecting the evidence for evolution.
Before that it served as a NatWest bank, and was granted Grade II listed status in 1972.
Residents can view and comment on the listed building consent and the advertising consent on the council’s website.