More than 70 people from the Portaferry area had a VIP-style sneak preview of the £1.5m renovation work at Portico, the region’s arts and heritage centre in the making.
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fPPC Chairman Ian McDonnell, Heritage Officer Verity Peet, Strangford MP Jim Shannon, Strangford MLA Michele McIlveen, Ards Borough Councillor Robert Adair and Education Officer Clive Price[/caption]
Donning hard hats, they viewed the extensive work being undertaken to transform this 19th century Greek Revival temple into a state-of-the-art 21st century cultural centre. The result of years of planning and fund-raising by local charity the Friends of Portaferry Presbyterian Church (fPPC), visitors were visibly impressed by the scale of the project.
Among them was Strangford MP Jim Shannon, who spoke highly of Portico. Mr Shannon said: : “I’m pleased as punch to see the restoration of an historic building – with the support that’s been made available from the Heritage Lottery Fund and many others.
“I commend the fortitude and the commitment of fPPC in lining up such an impressive array of funders and bringing so much income to the area. I look forward to the building being restored to its former glory.”
Mr Shannon believes that when work is complete, Portico will become a hub of tourism interest for the whole of the Ards Peninsula.
Other visitors included Strangford MLA Michelle McIlveen, Ards Borough Council member Robert Adair and fPPC Treasurer Hugh Anderson. Hugh has been with the project since its beginning yet was still overwhelmed by the impact of seeing it. What impressed me most was to see the change after the organ casing had been taken out,” said Hugh. “You could clearly see some of the wonderful architecture that had never been visible before.”
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