"Exciting" renovation to transform derelict 150-year-old Royal Navy Rum Store in Gosport to begin soon - when

Plans are in motion to regenerate the 150-year-old Royal Navy Rum Store at Victoria Quay in Gosport - transforming the Grade II listed structure into a vibrant space for businesses. The Rum Store will be partly demolished and renovated to include a rooftop bar and restaurant, which would boast panoramic views of Portsmouth Harbour.

Ben Mason, portfolio manager at UK Docks maritime services - that owns the site - said the main contractor has been found for the project and architects have analysed the area ahead of construction. He told The News: “We’re in a really good place. It has come to life quite recently.

“The government funding has been really helpful to get momentum behind the project. We’re really keen to get started and get boots on the ground so we can do some physical work to the building itself. It’s really exciting.”

Plans have been submitted to Gosport Borough Council and the restoration is expected to start in June. Renovations will take roughly two years to complete. Projections are that £11m will be generated on a yearly basis from increased footfall and other sources, with 150-200 jobs being created. The local authority also wants to open up the waterfront and create a route to Clarence Yard.

Gosport Borough Council was awarded £18m of government levelling up funding (LUF) in November last year. The whole revamp will cost £22m. The Rum Store itself was built to store alcohol, sugar and beer so sailors at Portsmouth Naval Base could get their rum rations. It was a vibrant hub of activity in Victorian times and afterwards, but by the 1970s, it fell into disrepair.

Mr Mason said it’ll be a really big challenge to transform the building into a vibrant space for visitors and businesses. “It’s a massive space to fill, but we’ve had lots of interest from potential tenants,” he added. “We’ve not got any fears about being able to lease the building out to many different types of businesses to help populate the wider area.”

With UK Docks taking over the Rum Store in 2019, Mr Mason never thought the project would get to this stage. He said: “We were very close to categorising the building as being beyond economic repair. We had all sorts of vegetation growing out of it, and it was looking in quite a sorry state.

“Big sections were falling down. It was very difficult to visualise anything but a demolition exercise at the time. But now we have the backing, it’s a bit easier to see where we’re going with the project.”

Gosport is home to several buildings of historical significance which have been left to their own devices, such as Fort Blockhouse and others. Mr Mason hopes this scheme will encourage more renovation work in the town to create museums and other developments.

“It’s a massive space to fill, but we’ve had lots of interest from potential tenants. We’ve not got any fears about being able to lease the building out to many different types of businesses to help populate the wider area. It will be a really nice thought to think this would be the start of the regeneration of multiple other old navy or military assets.”