Agenda item

The Leader introduced the report.  The National Lottery Heritage Fund approved the Council’s application for funding to repair and restore the Transporter Bridge as well as provide a new visitor centre in December.  The Council now needed to formally accept the award and fulfil a number of obligations before the Heritage Fund granted ‘permission to start’.   The award of 8.65 million was the third largest Heritage Fund award made in Wales.

The report sought permission to provide National Lottery with an agreed underwrite for the £365k of unconfirmed matched funding within the project budget.  The unconfirmed funding was money that was expected to be raised over the life of the project from direct fundraising, sponsorship and further applications to grant bodies for packages of funding to support a range of events and activities.  The maximum exposure to the Council was £365k and would only be required should not a penny more be raised.

The Leader invited the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture presented the report.

Councillor Harvey was pleased to inform colleagues on the result of the consultation.  The Transporter Bridge was a historical and prominent part of Newport and thanked the Culture and Continuing Learning Manager for his very hard work, even putting off his retirement to complete the project.

A stage 2 application to the Wolfson Foundation; following a successful stage 1 application was due to be submitted at the end of February.  That application was for funding to help cover the existing gap and was not for a specific amount.  

Key points

The project team submitted an application to Welsh Government for a further £1.5M support package for the project through Visit Wales’ Tourism Investment Support scheme. Welsh Government officials were currently going through a due diligence process and had indicated the money required was available in their capital fund.  Welsh Government also provided National Lottery Heritage Fund with a statement that provided sufficient support to enable NLHF to make the award.  Welsh Government have indicated that the outcome would be communicated the week commencing 15 February 15, however a note received Thursday confirmed the necessary ministerial decision would not be taken until the week commencing 22 February.  Nevertheless, it was important to proceed to confirm this with the underwriter, as it was important that permission to commence was granted for two reasons:

1.     The capital works associated with the Bridge repairs and the new visitor centre were tendered, and any significant delay was likely to increase costs.

2.     The target date for reopening was March 2023.  There was some timetable contingency built into the project plan, however there was significant benefit to opening the bridge at the beginning of the season.

National Lottery Heritage Fund would not grant permission to start until Welsh Government agree their portion of the funding.

The project underpinned by a significant National Lottery Heritage Fund award would enable some much needed repair and restoration to the structure and would stabilise the structure.  The new visitor centre and improved interpretation would offer visitor facilities and enabled the Bridge to develop new tourist markets that in turn would contribute to overall sustainability.

Comments from Cabinet Members:

Councillor Mayer commented that in the ‘fifties, the Transporter Bridge was not valued and not even included in the murals at the Civic Centre.  It had been a hard fight to keep the Transporter Bridge on the agenda.  Original plans had been found in Gwent Archives two years ago, which was also an amazing find.  Councillor Mayer mentioned that this pleased the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture, who cared greatly for the project.

Councillor Jeavons echoed comments and thanked all the officers involved as well as the Cabinet Member, for their hard work.

Councillor Cockeram mentioned that the lights of the Transporter Bridge added to the Newport Skyline and also gave Newport a personal history.

Councillor Truman added that the Transporter Bridge was in Newport’s DNA, it was an iconic structure and intricate piece of engineering and also thanked the Welsh Government and Heritage Lottery Fund for their financial support.

Councillor Davies mentioned that the Transporter Bridge was an integral part of Newport and was pleased that Councillor Harvey, the Culture and Continuing Learning Manager and all officers involved who worked very hard to preserve the bridge for future generations to enjoy.

Councillor Rahman echoed the comments of his colleagues.

Cabinet member colleagues also gave their personal experiences over the years which involved the Transporter Bridge and once again thanked the Councillor Harvey and all officers for this positive report.

The Leader also thanked Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge (FONTB) for their passion and commitment and also extended her thanks to former councillor David Hando for his continued involvement and hard work, which had contributed to the restoration of the Newport Transporter Bridge.

Resolved:

Cabinet resolved to

i)              Accept the award of £8.7 million, subject to Welsh Government confirming the Tourism Investment Support Grant as matched funding; and

ii)             Provide National Lottery Heritage Fund with an agreed underwrite for the unconfirmed matched funding