Hovercraft

This story is also a good candidate for …And Finally” but as a lover of the hovercraft Ive elevated it (excuse the pun) to the main section of Hinterland It tells us:

The Princess Margaret and Princess Anne Hoverspeed vessels have been on display at the Hovercraft Museum in Lee-on-the-Solent since 2000. However, the Government agency that owns them says it needs the land for housing, and they are now fenced off with their future uncertain. Despite being stored at the museum, the SRN4 category hovercraft and the site where they are stored are owned by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) rather than the museum trust. There has been a protracted legal battle between transport heritage enthusiasts and the agency, which wants to develop the land to create new homes and an innovation centre. More than 10,000 people have signed the museum’s petition in two days, with the same number adding their names to a Change.org petition.

The National Historic Ships Register has also stepped in to see if it can save the hovercraft which, at 47 years old, does not meet their 50-year criteria to qualify for the register. “We feel at least one of the hovercraft should be saved from destruction to pass on to next generations,” said museum trustee Warwick Jacobs. “We’ve also had phone calls from France, where they believe it’s as much a French hovercraft as it is British. As many French people and cars travelled on it as British. They are talking about saving one on behalf of the Government for Calais, although it’s early days. And we would have one for the Hovercraft Museum.”

If Princess Margaret – which featured in the Bond film Diamonds Are Forever – out of the way to be scrapped, or sent to France, to provide space for the HCA and allow the Princess Anne to be saved. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, a museum patron who took a hovercraft along the River Nile in the 1970s, has contacted the trustees to say he will do what he can to help the cause. And, although the Royal family do not speak publicly on political decisions, The Independent understands that Princess Anne’s office has been in touch with the Hovercraft Museum expressing her support for the campaign. An HCA spokesperson said: “Our aim is to develop the land to create much needed homes and jobs, and regenerate the local area. However, we take our responsibility to national heritage seriously. We are talking to local partners to find a solution for the hovercraft and considering all options, including proposals from the Hovercraft Museum to save one of the craft.”