THE vision of a maritime museum in a Martello Tower at Langney Point has been resurrected two years after it was first discussed.
Martello Tower 66, close to the harbour entrance, like its neighbour, Tower 64, towards Pevesney Bay, is vacant and in a poor condition.
They both sit on a list of 20 buildings in East Sussex which English Heritage has warned are 'at risk', slowly d
ecaying but with no solution found to save them.
In 2006, Paul Stratford first came up with the idea of a shipwreck and maritime museum and education centre in and around Tower 66, a way of preserving the 19th-century tower which was built as a south coast defence against a feared French invasion, something he said many Eastbourne residents now know little about.
He said, "Despite huge initial support from residents, councillors and many interested parties, all forward momentum for the centre has hit a brick wall more resilient than the Martello Tower my vision hopes to save."
He believes the idea has been ignored, for financial reasons, by Eastbourne Borough Council and Sovereign Harbour Ltd, which owns the tower and is advertising the land adjacent to it for sale with planning permission for a hotel.
The company has no plans in place for the use of the tower, which Mr Stratford would have as a viewing tower, where visitors would look out to the ocean, hearing stories of shipwrecks and history before moving on to learn about marine life and biodiversity in the education centre.
He does not want it converted into a home, with windows and extensions added, as has happened to other Martello Towers around the coast, including Tower 55 at Norman's Bay, which sold for £285,000 in 2004.
Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson supports the museum proposal and said, "I think it is important to restore the maritime history in our area and of course the towers were very much part of that so I think it would be a marriage made in heaven.
"These are historically important buildings, at the very least they should be maintained and kept in good repair but it would be nicer if they were being used for something, if not a museum, a residence or community facility."
For the time being, a Sovereign Harbour Ltd spokesman said detailed investigations are taking place to ensure the preservation of the two towers, after a five-figure sum was spent last year to clear their interiors for a specialist survey.
And Mr Stratford is not giving up on his 'landmark attraction' for the seafront, hoping a developer will come forward to work with him on the museum.
More details at http://www.resolutionproject.co.uk. Email: paulstratford@resolutionproject.co.uk.
Tower 66 was built to augment the firepower of the six-gun shore battery known as East Langney Fort or Langney Redoubt, built in 1795.
The tower was in excellent condition, being in the service of the coastguard up until April 1989. Today it stands gutted, the door and windows having been replaced with metal bars that allow pigeons to make a mess of the interior.
A 32 pounder cannon still lies on the roof, having been finally dismounted from its carriage in 1940, to make room for the concrete roof that was built onto the top of the tower by the Royal Engineers. Two concrete blocks were placed on the firestep to enable machine-guns to be mounted, firing over the parpet and down onto the beach.
Shortly after the war, the Coastguard took over the tower, and an observation post was built onto the wartime roof.
In November 1988 an unexploded 68-pounder shell was discovered a few yards from the tower and detonated by Army bomb disposal experts. The tower now stands empty, and houses harbour navigation beacons on its roof.
Tower 64 still retains its original gun carriage, the cannon having been dismounted to allow the concrete roof to have been constructed by the Royal Engineers in 1940. The cannon, dated 1829, lay outside the tower until 1968 when it was removed, and may be one of those mounted in the Cannon Camping Park not far away.
