For those following the Save Exploris Campaign who aren’t on facebook, Friends of Exploris have posted this on their facebook page this morning:
Hello folks just to let you know that Portaferry Community Collective, Portaferry Regeneration and Queens University with support from Beannchor who operate the Portaferry Hotel and a number of specialists in heritage management are at the core of Friends of Exploris and the campaign to Save Exploris.
We began the campaign to Save Exploris because it is still a hugely successful visitor attraction, if only because it generates £3m to the local economy annually. It is also a much loved marine life centre.
We believe that new models of management would make Exploris a more viable business proposition and that it should not solely rely on government handouts.
A different model of operation would also allow it to reach for the kind of status that would set it on the world stage of quality visitor attractions and marine life centres and re-energise its programme of activty. This is very difficult to achieve under local government management for many reasons.
We also believe that Exploris should have not only local government but central government support because of its services to education, wildlife conservation, scientific research, tourism and the local economy which need to be protected as a Northern Ireland asset for the long term. This support can take many forms.
We are currently working up models along public / private sector / charity trust lines and it would be premature for us to recommend a way forward as yet.
We are also meeting with Government Ministers, senior government officials and other key bodies.
We would also again thank Ards Borough Council for supporting Exploris financially down through the years and for giviing us this window of opportunity. We look forward to working with them in the interests of the whole Borough.
In the meantime you can all please help by going to Exploris – we know that it has suffered from a lack of investment but it is still your aquarium and you have already shown that you can save it if you work collectively to do so.
We will work our hardest in the meantime behind the scenes.
Please also check out the Save Exploris Facebook page – it is not run by us but another individual “Friend” who is doing a great job – thank you.
Obviously we’ll keep you up to date with details of the campaign here on the Gala Site and here are various links dedicated to Saving Exploris.
Links :
Save Exploris Aquarium Facebook Page
Friends of Exploris Facebook Page
Save Exploris Twitter Feed
Petitions:
Save Exploris Aquarium
Save Exploris
Petition to Northern Ireland Assembly