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Unsurprisingly, there has been very little going on, either with the Society or in the town, although we are pleasantly surprised at the number of restaurants poised to move into the town centre, particularly those on, or close to, the Cornhill. The revamped square could actually become quite lively after dark.
Waterfront Partnership + BrewDog
I sat on the Waterfront Partnership for ten years, a group of Waterfront Landowners, Council Officers (Strategic Planners) and representatives of the Port Owners. The key purpose of the group was to ensure that the proposed developments didn’t turn the Waterfront into a housing estate, devoid of life during the day. Included in the planning mix there would need to be restaurants, bars, visitor attractions and people, people who would use the Waterfront with a purpose other than simply living there.
The key was of course the University, staff, students, visiting academics and parents all of whom would require a snack at lunchtime and probably the occasional meal in an evening. And these bars and restaurants would attract others, office workers during their lunch-break, a night-time economy and weekend promenaders. Things were slow to get going, and the financial crash of 2009 didn’t help but slowly businesses around the Waterfront have grown, there is now a choice of where to take coffee, where to eat and enjoy the company of friends.
It is for these reasons we welcome the pending arrival of BrewDog into a ground floor unit under The Mill. The west end of Albion Wharf doesn’t enjoy the most ‘open’ of Waterfront views, but BrewDog will bring people, money and jobs, and this will inevitably lead to other units being taken in Cranfield Square (which unfortunately has no view of the water at all).
We appreciate the concerns of residents, particularly those whose apartments are upstairs, in The Mill or the Winerack but we are sure BrewDog will turn out to be good neighbours.
Museum
Elsewhere in this Newsletter you will read of the financial award that the National Lottery Heritage Fund will make towards the planned improvements at Ipswich Museum. It is important to appreciate that they are not the only contributors; some remarkable negotiations have gone on to ensure that there will be sufficient funding in place to complete the proposed package. As I understand things, the total cost of £8.7 million is made up of £4.3 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, £3.6 million from Ipswich Borough Council, £40,000 from the Friends of Ipswich Museum, a grant of £110,000 from the Wolfson Foundation with £340,000 through fundraising (Trusts and Charitable Foundations) and £300,000 from various sources including volunteer time. [See ‘Letter to the Editor’ and response on page 22. -Ed.]
Heritage Open Days
Heritage Open Days are back in 2022; inevitably the event will be different from those we organised in the early 21st century – perhaps it was time for change without us realising. One idea we are working on is the history of clusters of buildings, perhaps around a street junction such as St Nicholas Street / St Peters Street / Silent Street / Rose Lane, ie. Curson Place, marked today by Wolsey's statue. Literally thousands of people walk through the area every day on their way to the Waterfront or to cross Stoke Bridge. Lord Curson's house was once here, the house Cardinal Wolsey coveted as his own. Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon stayed in the house in 1522 with their entourage in the inn opposite (Curson Lodge which stands today). Heritage Open Days in Ipswich will require volunteers to welcome visitors to those buildings we can persuade to open (including Pykenham's Gatehouse). You don't need to know anything about the venue, most will have a brief history on a sheet of A4 which you can hand to visitors. If you read it first you'll no doubt be able to answer 90% of their questions. Interested in contributing a couple of hours? Drop an email to Caroline (secretary@ipswichsociety.org.uk). We need you.
John Norman