BEHIND THE HEADLINES: Still hope for Newport's medieval ship

The Colliers consultancy firm was asked to stop looking for a preferred site for a museum after the May elections, following changes in priorities with the new Labour administration.

Now an activist with the Friends of the Newport Ship has called for people to e-mail and write to AMs and councillors to show their support.

It was back in 2002 when timbers of a large ship were found under the spot earmarked for the Riverfront theatre.

Initially there was no intention to conserve the ship, but the Save Our Ship campaign and roadside vigil sparked a flood of e-mails to the National Assembly, jamming its servers.

In 2002 the Welsh Government committed £3.5 million to the excavation, conservation and display of the ship, on the condition that Newport council would raise or provide any additional funds needed to complete the project.

The Heritage Lottery Fund provided a grant of £799,500 in 2006 for recording and analysing the timber remains.

Newport council is in discussions with the Welsh Government on the ship’s future, including looking at storage and a funding strategy including the possibility of bidding for Heritage Lottery Fund cash.

Jean Gray, treasurer of the Friends, was one of the members of the vigil. Officers from the council and Cabinet member for leisure and culture Debbie Wilcox met members of the groups two weeks ago.

“It went very well. There’s not a lot they can say because funds are so limited,” she said.

“It’s a bit frustrating that there is not any long-term forward planning. But the reason for that is the political cycle in the council and the Assembly.

It’s hard for them to do it, I don’t know what the answer is.

“I think the next step is for a museum, which is going to be very difficult.

“It shouldn’t be a council problem.

It should be more centred around the Welsh Assembly to look for large grants. Maybe even outside Wales.

“It isn’t fair for the taxpayers and councillors of Newport to have such a responsibility.

“It would be nice if we could find a rich benefactor but they don’t come around often.”

She said that it has always been a long-term hope by the Friends that the ship would be displayed in a museum, and she said Cllr Wilcox had told her it is the council’s intention to eventually display the artifact.

“Our hope is that people will really make their concerns known to the council by letters or e-mails to concerned councillors and prominent Assembly members. It’s only by putting pressure on these people who make the decisions that they are going to realise that the support is still there.”

She said grants for the scheme will be needed from October next year with the lease on the Maesglas building set to end.

Work to freeze-dry the timbers is also taking longer than anticipated, she said. It was hoped it would be completed by October 2014.

The presiding officer of the National Assembly for Wales has said that the ship will need further National Lottery or Welsh Government funding.

Rosemary Butler,AMfor Newport West, said the ship is a national treasure and a fantastic discovery.

“But the cost of conserving it up to now has been a financial challenge,” she said. “I know that the Welsh Government has helped the council to bring it to the stage it is at now. To take it further forward, we are talking a serious amount of money.

“It’s a long-term project. It’s not going to be ready for display for a number of years. It’s something that Newport council can’t do on its own.”

The council has said that it is working hard to ensure the project is on a more sustainable footing. It says it is not considering disposal as an option.

It has also said the economic context in which the authority is operating is very different from when the ship was found more than ten years ago.

Historic attraction deserves to be seen, display it by river with pride, say residents

PEOPLE in Newport expressed their disappointment at the news that a museum is unlikely to materialise in the near future.

Stephanie Pitt, 55, an Iceland cashier from Ringland, said: “I am disappointed that the ship isn’t going to be displayed as it is part of our heritage and history. I would like to have taken my grandchildren there to see it, as they would have enjoyed it. The ship would have been nice displayed by the Riverfront theatre.”

Astrid Lewis, 38, from Goodrich Crescent, said: “I would like to have seen the ship, so I am disappointed, it would have been nice to have an attraction in Newport city centre.”

Lesley Heart, 54, an estate agent from Newport, said: “I am really gutted. Newport needs a helping hand to get people back into the centre as people aren’t coming into the city at the moment, so the ship would have been nice on the riverfront.”

Anita Christy, 49, of Caerwent, said: “It is a same that the ship is going to be put in to storage as Newport is a city that is founded in ports and trade and the ship would be a good historical representation of the foundations of the city.

“I would like to have seen it on the Riverfront or the docks as it would bring people into the industry side as well as the history side.”

Cliff Robins, 81, of Risca, said: “I remember when Newport was bustling but now it is like a Wild West ghost town.

“I would like to see something like the ship to bring people in to Newport, as the market is the only reason why people come here.”

Dean Beddis, the owner of Kriminal Records at Newport market, said: “It is an issue of national importance and is another travesty for Newport... it would have been an attraction for people to come to Newport. Why don’t the council ask Sir Terry Matthews to pay for it?”

Terry Gay, 61, of Rogerstone, who works at Negative Zone comic books, Newport market, said: “I think the ship would have been good on the Riverfront as it would bring tourists into the city.”

Leigh Mansell, the owner of The Old Clock Shop, Newport, said: “I think they should put it by the Transporter Bridge or the Riverfront as it is somewhere people can see it.

“I am disappointed that the ship is not coming as it is such a waste.”

Caroline Parsonage, 45, a disability worker from Cwmbran, said: “I would like to have seen it at the old railway, it would have been a main focal point and that was where it was originally found.”

Rita Parsonage, retired, and a mother, from Cwmbran, said: “It would have been nice to have seen it by the fountain. I am disappointed as there was such a hype when it was found and it would have provided employment for people.”

‘Lobbying at all levels’

COUNCILLOR Debbie Wilcox, cabinet member for leisure and culture, said the meeting with the Friends of the ship was very positive, and that officers are preparing a report for CyMAL.

She said the Welsh Government organisation is taking the matter seriously and that lobbying is going on at all levels.

“The longer-term planning will be a partnership plan,” she said.

“Newport council will be part of that, but it won’t just be Newport council.

“It is as if a spaceship landed in the middle of town. That’s how different it is from what a local government vehicle does.”

Although money was found back in 2002, she emphasised that “it couldn’t be a more different economic environment now”.

She re-emphasised that the ship has an “important international significance”.