Cutty Sark given 10million reasons to be optimistic

10:04am Wednesday 6th February 2008

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The Cutty Sark has received a £10m lifelin following the fire which almost destroyed the world-famous tea clipper in May last year.

THE Heritage Lottery Fund announced the £10m grant for the historic ship which was badly damaged by a fire last year while part way through a £25m conservation project.

Police are still investigating the cause of the blaze, which broke out on May 21.

The cash means the original plans for the ship, based in Greenwich, can go ahead.

Cutty Sark Trust chief executive Richard Doughty said: "We are over the moon.

"We've come so far, it would have been a tragedy if the fire at the 11th hour was allowed to jeopardise the project.

"Heritage Lottery have seen fit to come to our rescue. That's fabulous for Greenwich."

There were fears the trust only had enough cash to cover the cost of conserving the original fabric of the ship.

Mr Doughty added: "We would have struggled financially to do anything more than simply put it back together again without doing all these other things."

The work will include suspending the ship 3m above its original position, allowing visitors to walk and dine underneath, and encasing it in a glass bubble.

In the meantime, plans are under way to install a viewing platform so people can get up close to the ship.

The Greenwich Foundation, which is responsible for the Old Royal Naval College, has welcomed the grant.

Director of public affairs Helen Beioley said: "We are delighted for them.

"To enable the project to be completed as they planned can be nothing but good news for Greenwich."

The Cutty Sark Trust raised £20m towards the original £25m cost of the conservation work.

The Lottery provided £13m, while £6m was generated from private donations and £1m raised from the public appeal.

But the fire added a further £10.5m cost and an extra 14 months of work.

In November, News Shopper reported how there was a £15m shortfall in funding.

Now there is still £5m to go, and Mr Doughty stressed fundraising is still vital.

He said: "The £10m is a lifeline for the Cutty Sark, but it's not the end of the story."