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Harbour
House
Conservation
Harbour House is one of the heritage properties at the heart of the port at Glasson Dock. Our recent consultation captured the thoughts of local stakeholders and the consensus is that it should once again serve the needs of the port and of the local community.
This page will track the Harbour House conservation journey.
Working for the Future
As a Trust Port, part of our role is to conserve and protect the heritage of our port. We’re working to hand it on to the next generation in safer and better shape.
Harbour House played a role in the expansion of transport in our area in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was built from rendered sandstone with a hipped slate roof in the early 1800s and used as the Harbour Master’s Office. It has recently fallen into disuse due to a lack of heating and insulation.
The building of Harbour House coincided with the growth of the village from a small fishing settlement to a thriving port. It sits within the Conservation Area and is a Non-designated Heritage Asset.
Future uses
for Harbour House
Harbour House’s conservation will bring many benefits. Each future use one has been carefully considered based on what’s already available locally:
This is an excellent opportunity to conserve the building and return it to its former use as an administrative base for port staff. We feel that hot desking for businesses related to port operations is a natural extension of this function. Non-port businesses will also be able to hot desk here.
Our core business is shipping and the port has long served a community of seafarers. There is no current provision at the port for them. They will be able to find laptop and phone chargers, and reply to emails on dry land.
We’ll create a flexible space to use for training, lectures, and business meetings. Local businesses and special interest groups will be able to use this too.
Our archive needs a home. We are keen to tell the full story of the port with display boards and artifacts in a space dedicated to our heritage. It will be open to the public with existing parking available in the village.
Port staff are first aid trained and able to share these skills with the local community.
Benefits of the
conservation and changes
Increased economic prosperity for the village through visitors spending money here
Job creation with potential for a receptionist, a cleaner and someone to look after our archive and Harbour House
Conservation of a heritage asset that’s an important part of the character of the village
Potential for Glasson Dock to become a business hub with training, working and meeting facilities
Improved sustainability through solar panels and EV charge points
Outside seating area for the public with bird feeders and wildlife friendly planting
Knowledge sharing and educational outreach through training facilities and the Heritage Space
Please download the results of our recent survey on the proposals for Harbour House
We are now starting work with our architects and the planning teams locally, taking into account the results of the consultation.
Click here
To download the survey results
We are thrilled to say that the response to our invitation to submit views was overwhelmingly positive. Respondents placed a particular focus on:
– using Harbour House as a home for our heritage archive
– providing facilities for our community of seafarers
– connecting with other organisations in the area
– providing facilities for local residents and businesses, which complement what’s already available
– encouraging more visits from tourists
Harbour House stakeholder consultation FAQs:
Harbour House is an important heritage building that needs conserving. It makes sense to return it to its former use as an administrative base for port staff at the same time.
We’re planning a multi-use facility, which will include port offices, port welfare facilities for staff and visiting seafarers, training and business facilities, a heritage centre to house our extensive archive, and a first aid station with a defibrillator.
There’s a list of benefits for the local community and local businesses above. Our immediate community includes a village primary school, over 2,000 residents, and all businesses listed in our postcode area (LA2 0). We also included our wider community of stakeholders in a consultation in April & May of this year.
Visitors to Harbour House will support the use of the existing public car park in the village.
Our professional planning team will work through all the relevant permissions with the Local Planning Authority (LPA).
As a Trust Port, financial surplus from our core business of shipping is reinvested in the Port of Lancaster assets. That includes heritage, infrastructure, equipment and people.
All works will be undertaken in a responsible and respectful manner.
Following the consultation, and depending on our work with the Local Planning Authority, we hope to start work before the end of 2023.
Yes. Benefits include increased footfall and spending power.
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