A fundraising campaign to buy the Sidholme Hotel and turn it into a cultural centre has amassed more than £280,000 in six weeks, towards a target of £2million.
The Save Sidmouth’s Hidden Gem group envisages a regional centre of excellence for art, music and culture, as well as a venue for conferences, weddings and other events that would bring in income.
It has presented its proposals to the owners of the hotel, The Christian Guild, who had announced in May that they were considering putting it up for sale.
Members have contacted ‘everyone we could think of in the Sid Valley’, as well as more than 60 possible benefactors in the UK and elsewhere in the world, and potential investors.
So far they have raised £4,540 through GoFundMe, £11,870 in cheque donations, and £265,000 through potential investors, totalling £281.410.
They say there is still community and benefactor interest developing in respect of their proposals.
Donations can be made via the GoFundMe website or by sending a cheque made payable to Save Sidmouth’s Hidden Gem to Mukie Gosrani, 11 Lymebourne Park, Sidmouth, EX10 9HX. Cheques can be marked for return if the bid is not successful.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here