RML 497 to Remain in Storage, as Council Approves Extension....
- HBC Exposed
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Plans for the future of the Motor launch Vessel, previously used in WWII appear safe, for now, however questions remain as to whether any works will now commence for its restoration this time around...
25th May 2025
Hartlepool Borough Council's planning officers this month have approved an extension of planning permission for the continued storage of a World War II Royal Navy vessel—despite no meaningful restoration works being carried out since its arrival back in 2019.
The vessel in question, Royal Navy Motor Launch (RML 497), was brought to Hartlepool with much fanfare nearly six years ago, touted as a major part of the town’s ambitious waterfront regeneration scheme. Originally granted planning permission in 2019 to become a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN), the historic ship instead has been sat idle in a makeshift storage shed—located in what is effectively a cordoned-off section of the museum's car park.
Despite significant public and charitable funding behind the project, very little in the way of actual restorative work is said to have occurred. The NMRN, who acquired the vessel in 2015 with its director listed as Hartlepool Borough Councils Managing Director Denise McGuckin, blamed COVID-19 and ongoing funding issues for the lack of progress. A planning statement submitted to support the latest extension reads:
“Progress towards a permanent solution for the display of RML 497 was significantly hampered during the Covid-19 pandemic and for a significant period afterwards… The original planning permission for the shed (granted in 2019) therefore needs to be extended to enable the large-scale redevelopment plans to progress to the next stages and to ensure RML 497 remains protected.”
Its claimed £90,600 to purchase the ailing vessel came from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, £5,000 from the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust, and £5,000 from the museum’s own coffers to help acquire the ship. In 2019, a further £499,250 was awarded by the Tees Valley Combined Authority to facilitate the vessel’s 400-mile move from Southampton to Hartlepool—part of a much larger £1.1 million regeneration project.
Yet, nearly six years later, and its claimed there’s been little to show beyond a weathered storage shed and a historic ship left in limbo.
The RML 497 is still said ot be billed as a “key component” of the town’s wider waterfront redevelopment programme, which involves multiple lottery applications, including a new naval gallery and the so-called “Reimagining” of the Museum of Hartlepool. But all these grand proposals reportedly remain firmly in the planning stage, with the ship’s future entirely dependent on further public grants and an as-yet-unagreed design plan.
So whilst the National Museum of the Royal Navy has successfully secured another planning lifeline, the real question remains: how much longer can this floating relic of war sit abandoned in a car park before Hartlepool finally sees a return on its investment?
For now, RML 497 continues to gather dust—not dignity—in Hartlepool. where it seems just like the Wingfield Castle, historic ships seem to come to Hartlepool to either 'die', or be forgotten in some storage shed...
