A POPULAR public seating shelter on Cowes Parade has been saved from demolition.

The watch house shelter, by the RNLI lifeboat station, will remain in place thanks to joint funding from the IW Council, Cowes Town Council and an offer to refurbish it from Havenstreet- based company Trevor Jones Contracting.

Previous quotes had put renovation costs at higher than the cost to demolish it and because of the limited budget, the council had opted for demolition.

However, due to the offer from Trevor Jones Contracting, the IW Council will now project manage the work and provide the funding which had previously been earmarked for demolition.

Cowes Town Council agreed to provide further funding for the renovation and accept future ownership of the shelter.

Commercial activities manager, Trisha Stillman, said: “I’d like to thank Cowes Town Council and Trevor Jones Contracting for their help in preserving this much-loved shelter for future generations to enjoy.

"Sometimes we have to make difficult decisions based on available funding but it’s great news that, in this case, there has been a really positive outcome.”

Cowes Town Council said: "We are delighted that this historic structure is being restored for the benefit of the residents and visitors to Cowes. We look forward to seeing works to the structure finished in time for the busy summer season."

Gowan Ruler, contracts manager at Trevor Jones Contracting, said: “Being a Cowes boy and having spent a lot of time on the parade in the past, I felt it was a local amenity that needed saving.”

The historic structure has been cordoned off, following an engineer's report that found it to be unsafe.

Work is planned to take place in over the next two months.

There has been a structure on the site from the late Victorian period, although the current shelter does not appear to be original.

Heritage records show that more than 100 years ago, the shelter was used by local longshoremen.