The future of Newport’s Guildhall – an important part of Isle of Wight heritage – could be looking up.
Most recently a museum and tourist information centre, the John Nash designed grade II* listed building on Newport High Street closed its doors last month (March 2015).
However, CEO of Visit Isle of Wight, David Thornton, has floated an idea to use the Guildhall as a tourism hub that could see the museum’s doors open once again.
21st Century Tourism Hub
David spoke to OnTheWight about his ideas to reopen Guildhall as a major tourist attraction for Newport, with a 21st century tourist and travel information centre.
He said,
“Although there is no solid plan, wouldn’t it be great if the building could come back into use?
The idea has been proposed to the Isle of Wight Council to see whether the building could be used in the short term (over the next three years) by his organisation.
Thornton: “One step at a time”
Although discussions are ongoing, David said he expects an initial response from the council in the next few days.
For the first time yesterday, the Board of Visit IW, were also let in on the plans.
David went on to say,
“It would be great to have the building back in use, at the very least to have the air circulating.
“Imagine what it would be like to have the ballroom reopened.”
Although there is no solid plan at the moment (or funding in place – although heritage grants might be a possibility), David said they were taking one step at a time, but viewed the prospect as exciting for not only his organisation, but also tourism in Newport.
Image: Simon Haytack under CC BY 2.0
