Town council pushes through £10,000 boost for Friends of New Milton Station’s No.1 New Milton fundraising campaign for disused station master’s house

A £10,000 funding boost towards the long-awaited restoration of New Milton’s first building has been pushed through by the town council.

As revealed by the A&T, the Friends of New Milton Station (FNMS) launched a campaign towards bringing the disused station master’s house into community use.

This comes after a project, spearheaded in 2018 by former mayor, the late Cllr Keith Craze, to convert the site into a heritage centre repeatedly hit the buffers.

Previous delaying factors for No.1 New Milton included the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainty over funding.

Last year it looked to have been derailed for good after it was discovered around £300,000 was needed to address significant drainage issues, as well as an unstable wall.

Now, FNMS hopes to raise £40,000 in seed funding to pay for the lease, legal fees, structural surveys, public consultation, planning application and working drawings with full costings.

The group ultimately wants to see the house, garden and disused building on the station’s south side restored and brought into community use.

Once the full cost of the renovation works is known, grant applications can be made.

A heritage centre remains one of the potential future uses, along with a meeting room, exhibition space, tearoom, shop, art studio and study centre.

The site’s final use will be subject to a public consultation.

The town council is contributing the £10,000 from its community infrastructure levy (CIL) fund.

Amenities committee chairman Cllr Geoffrey Blunden told a recent full council meeting: “I was highly delighted to receive the Friends of New Milton Station’s presentation on the station master’s house.

“I’m very hopeful that the project will move forward, and amenities gave a very strong recommendation for the CIL funding to be moved forward.”

FNMS chair Mandy Hayes, together with Julia Stamper and other committee members, is leading the fundraising campaign.

The group will work on the project with award-winning community interest company Hampshire Community Rail Partnership, which has previously helped bring 10 railway buildings into community use.

Donations of £25 or more will secure a name on the Founder’s Wall artwork to be displayed at the house.

The total donated via the online fundraising page at newmilton.org.uk/crowdfunder stood at £1,848 on Wednesday.