New home for the Green Shelter

A historic shelter that has provided a rest space for town walkers since Victorian times could finally have a new home. The Green Shelter, also known as the threepenny bit shelter because of its shape, was removed from its site below Western Esplanade in February last year after it was damaged by vandals.

Since then it has been restored and revamped but officials and residents could not agree where it should go. But after discussion at a meeting of town councillors last week, its uncertain future looks to have finally been decided and it will be placed above Spa Esplanade, at the bottom of Bournemouth Drive.

The decision follows a report by Malcom Burgess, head of property and engineering services at the council. Mr Burgess told councillors that putting the shelter back near its original position would cost a further £11,000. This is on top of the £7,000 already spent on restoring the cast iron and timber shelter.

It was suggested that the £45,000 insurance money from the previously destroyed Red shelter could be used to build a second replica shelter that could be sited somewhere else. Peter Vickery-Jones, councillor for Herne and Broomfield said:

"It's important not to have this lost to the town forever."

The new location above the esplanade is thought to pose a reduced risk of vandalism and misuse.

HB Times 23rd Jun 2011

Future of shelter to be decided

A long-running battle over where to place a Victorian shelter looked set to come to a head this week. Councillors were voting on where to put the historic Green Shelter as the Times went to press, after failing to come to a decision at a meeting in March. At the moment the shelter is in storage after having been taken down and repainted.

The three options for where to put it are back where it was, near Herne Bay pier; to move it to one side, on to the slopes of the Spa Esplanade – the option favoured by councillors – which would require the shelter to be supported by stilts; and to put it onto Herne Bay Pier itself. The head of Herne Bay Residents Association Dick Eburne said:

" I think it is highly likely the money will be used to put the Green Shelter on stilts on western slopes of the Spa Esplanade."

Councillors had asked officer Malcolm Burgess to hire someone to work out costs for placing the shelter back on the site where it was. That option had been rejected by council engineers as unsafe and expensive because of an underground drain. Mr Burgess said putting the shelter on the site councillors wanted would cost around £14,000. That's on top of the £8,000 facelift the shelter had after being taken down in February last year.

HB Times 17th Jun 2011