Durlston Castle bid for Lottery Grant

21st April 2008 12:03 PM

Certainly £3.1m would go a long way in reaching the goal of the Durlston Project to transform its castle into a “world class” facility and the National Lottery are currently considering the grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund after numerous meetings with the project organisers.

The grade two listed building has had designs drawn up to include improved access for disabled visitors and a new gallery space. There are also plans in place for utilising the new Learning centre and designs for a new observatory are under development with the Wessex Astronomical Society.

Durlston Castle

The final decision will be made by the HLF within the next six months and the organisers of the project are said to be “cautiously optimistic”. The funds have been “earmarked” for the project after their stage one bid was successful.

Fundraising for the project has been ongoing for sometime led by the Friends of Durlston but they are still £1 million away from the matched funding required in order to secure a successful future for the castle.
With planning permission and the listed building consent already granted, if their bid is successful then work can start in late 2008 with plans for the grand opening of the castle late 2009

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