St. John's to spend $20K on Narrows restoration study

A group looking to preserve a piece of military history near St. John's harbour is one step closer to its goal this week.

St. John's City Council has agreed to give The Narrows Group $20,000 towards a study on restoring historical sites in the Fort Amherst and Battery areas, including the Second World Wargun emplacements on the Fort Amherst side.

The group will be paying the Grand Concourse Authorityto conduct the study of the sites and to develop an action plan for the future of the areas.

People have been lobbying since 2012 to get funding and recognition for the entrance to St. John's Harbourin order to up its profile tothose enjoyed bySignal Hill and Cape Spear.

• Fort Amherst revitalization at heart of group's campaign

Mark Hiscock, chair of The Narrows Group, said at the least the group would like to see a park area around Fort Amherst, buttheir ideal plan would be to have a full restoration of the WWII-era site.

"It's a beautiful area, and tourists should be able to get down to this site," he said.

"When cruise ships are coming across the Atlantic, when they come into St. John's, this is the first thing they see basically of North America and it's a shame that they have to see the ruins like it's there now."

Hiscock hopes this initial funding and plan will help the group attract more private and government money.

The City of St. John's had previously been in talks with the federal government to secure funding for the site, but Mayor Dennis O'Keefe said he was told it would not be happening.

In the meantime, Hiscock is sure that the whole province would benefit from having the area around The Narrows restored and displayed for the world to see.

"It's the first place in North America that saw action by German U-boats in the Second World War," he said.

"It's also the iconic entrance to not only St. John's and Newfoundland and Labrador but North America, really."