The Portal

An artist impression of the phase 1 developement of The Portal

After several years of development work and with enormous thanks to all who have contributed, DCT (Trips) Ltd has been successful in securing a confirmed grant of up to £989,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Portal project. Subject to securing the required partnership funding this will enable the first phase of construction to be planned for spring next year, with the building being ready to use by autumn 2014. Taking into account work done to get to this stage and forthcoming construction costs, DCT and DCT (Trips) Ltd have between them pledged over £500,000 towards the project. The focus now is on securing the balance of around £320,000 required to enable the first phase of construction to proceed.
This fantastic news comes hot on the heels of a partnership agreement with Dudley College, whereby catering lecturers and students will provide the catering function within the Portal building, meaning a valuable training kitchen for students and high quality food for visitors.
The Portal building will create a welcome for visitors in keeping with the labyrinth of canal tunnels and magnificent limestone caverns within Castle Hill, a unique gem of the Black Country that is hidden underground and only accessible by boat. As members of DCT are aware, the site is of regional, national and international significance for its geology, links with our industrial past, and history of canals. The Portal project aims to bring the importance of this heritage site to the attention of a wider audience and in turn provide it with a secure future and long-term public access.
An enhanced educational programme will be introduced, to include new opportunities for volunteers. The project also includes a covered area for trip-boat embarkation and a pedestrian swing-bridge to encourage visitors into and from the Black Country Living Museum.
The Portal building will serve as an access point for visitors using the Castle Hill recreational trail that is currently being developed to provide a physical link between the three heritage attractions at Castle Hill: Dudley Castle & Zoological Gardens, Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Canal Tunnel & Limestone Mines. The Castle Hill Vision is a separate initiative being organised by a steering group led by New Heritage Regeneration Limited and Dudley Council.
Using money raised through the National Lottery, the HLF aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help build a resilient heritage economy. From museums, parks and historic places, to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, HLF has supported almost 35,000 projects with more than £5.3bn across the UK.
(more details on: www.hlf.org.uk )