Southampton, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/06/2012 -- Gateway Hampshire is a sales and marketing company based in Southampton and is thrilled to hear that the city is expecting a Titanic memorial Museum. A source from the company said, 'this will definitely attract more tourists to our city.' Half a million pounds of lottery money has been given to develop a new Titanic memorial in Southampton. A new museum charting the story of the ill-fated liner could be built in the southern English city in time for the 100th anniversary of the sinking in 2012. This sinking of this almighty ship will never be forgotten.

The £28m project in Southampton, from where the liner set sail in 1912 on her maiden voyage, is set to feature a climb-aboard replica of the ship. But the announcement yesterday has met with anger in Belfast after a similar commemorative project had been turned down for lottery funding. Gateway Kent comments saying, 'we can understand that the people in Belfast are upset by this announcement.'

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded almost £500,000 in development funding to the Southampton project, with the potential for a further £4.5m towards construction. The story of the disaster — when the ship hit an iceberg causing the loss of 1,523 lives — and the finding of the wreck will be part of the exhibition. About 4,000 items from the ship are also set to be displayed within galleries.

Plans are currently under way to build a Titanic Signature Project in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast. Initially the building was one of three local projects which were in the running for funding from the Big Lottery Fund just two years ago.

The Executive has since agreed to provide half the funding with a range of other agencies, including Belfast City Council, the Harbour Commissioners and Titanic Charitable Foundation also contributing. Former Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers said it was disappointing that the Belfast project had not |received lottery money, while the Southampton project had been selected.

"It is disappointing to hear that money will be going to another project,' he said. 'People seem to forget that Titanic was built in our shipyards at Harland and Wolff. A lot of other cities around the world have claimed Titanic in some way. Ultimately, we have been very slow to catch up and that's something we need to look at very closely."

Gateway Hampshire has experienced massive growth since opening their doors this year and please to know that there will be another reason for tourists to visit Southampton.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/southampton-gets-titanic-museum-ahead-of-belfast-14249886.html#ixzz1lbK9tG2G
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/southampton-gets-titanic-museum-ahead-of-belfast-14249886.html

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Southampton, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2012 -- Staff at Gateway Hampshire, a Southampton-based sales and marketing company are looking forward to the opening of the new £15m SeaCity Museum in their home city. The museum opens on the 10th April, exactly a century after the Titanic set sail from the city on its doomed maiden voyage. Set to form the centrepiece of Southampton's cultural quarter, the Havelock Road building has been part funded by a £4.9m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Southampton City Council has raised the remainder of the money. Work began on the museum in October on the site of the former law courts.

Before the official opening, Friends of Southampton Museums and descendants of the Titanic's survivors were shown around the building this week in a series of special previews. Philip Littlejohn, whose grandfather Alexander James Littlejohn was a Titanic first class steward, was among the first visitors. He said that the museum, which will celebrate Southampton's maritime heritage and those who have travelled in and out of the city, will "keep the story alive for years".

"There's so much interest in the Titanic story at the minute," said a staff member at Gateway Hampshire, "It's really ingrained into the fabric of Southampton's history. For that event to still be capturing our hearts 100 years later really shows just how shocking and significant it was, and I think people will still want to hear and learn about the Titanic in another 100 years."

Museum consultant Sarah Davis, who has been involved with the exhibition since its creation, is looking forward to welcoming an estimated 160,000 visitors during the first year. "Southampton has been crying out for a good quality visitor attraction like this for a long time," she said, "In the past, people have just passed through the city either to or from a cruise ship and haven't really had chance to look around and see what's on offer. This should give them a great chance to learn more about Southampton's heritage and make it a destination in its own right."

Mr Littlejohn said, "The 100th anniversary is really capturing the public's interest in the story again like it did when James Cameron's film came out in 1997. Exhibitions like this will introduce children to the story and if you can capture their imagination at a young age, it helps keep the story alive for years to come."

Our source at Gateway Hampshire added, "It's important for the story to be constantly refreshed for new generations. The information and the facts remain the same, but now we have so many better ways to deliver that information to people, and to bring the history alive and even let people experience parts of it for themselves."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

http://www.prlog.org/11836672-gateway-hampshire-on-southamptons-sea-museum.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gateway-Hampshire/184021915031145

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Southampton, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/13/2012 -- As part of Southampton City Council's Estates Regeneration programme, young people are being given the opportunity to gain skills for future job success, by working on their own neighbourhoods. The flagship £16m council estate rebuild at Hinkler Place in Thornhill has already seen the creation of new homes after the 1960s shopping and housing precinct was demolished for the new development, renamed Prospect Place. "It's a fantastic opportunity for young people to get some experience," said a source from Gateway Hampshire, "And to do that in their own neighbourhoods is a real motivating factor."

Brandon Brown, 19, from Lordshill, was taken on as an apprentice with subcontractor HBS Group Southern in what is his first real chance to forge a career. "I am working mainly on plumbing and renewable energies – stuff like solar panels," he said. "It's the first time I've done anything like this and I am really enjoying doing this." Brandon took part in a construction work academy which included three weeks of work experience at the Hinkler site. "This opportunity has really helped me out and boosted my confidence – I am getting stuck in and hopefully will do well," said Brandon.

So far nine apprentices have been hired to work on estates across the city since the project began in March 2010. The council is working with JobCentrePlus, the developer Barratt Homes and the subcontractors at Prospect Place. "It just supplies them with opportunities they might not otherwise have," said our Gateway Hampshire source, "It's improving not just their lives, but also the community, at the same time."

A total of 107 new homes and a community centre are planned by the time it is finished. Mike Masters, a 25-year-old electrician from Thornhill, was rewarded when he saw boards going up around the building site and asked if there was any work. He gained a job with sub-contractor Southampton City Electrical. "I have been an electrician for about six years and the work I am doing here is very similar to work I've done previously," said Mike, "This development is brilliant and the opportunity has given me a chance for a better future."

Our Gateway Hampshire source commented saying, "These are the types of projects we should be supporting a lot more of. With the recession going on, young people need every little bit of help they can get."

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/9556658.City_regeneration_promotes_apprenticeships/

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Southampton, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/12/2012 -- Robert Chaloner a long time hospital administrator experienced in guiding medical facilities in the right direction was appointed the CEO of the Southampton hospital in 2006, at this time the hospital was in a casualty itself, In a recent interview Mr Chaloner stated that at the time he had taken over "staff morale was low, public perception wasn't what it should be and the finances were in bad shape" But now in 2012 Chaloner can now say "The hospital is not in a crisis anymore." If recent record-breaking donations are any indication, the South Fork's faith in its only hospital is greater than ever" A source of Gateway Hampshire has said that "Appointing Mr Chaloner CEO of Southampton Hospital was the best decision the hospital had made, the transformation in just four years is outstanding" Chaloner is no stranger to the medical profession, he has been a hospital administrator for over 30 years after following in the footsteps of his father who was once a small town doctor became chief of the medical staff and his mother who was a nurse on the board.

Chaloner first served as CEO for The Bon Secours and Canterbury Partnership in 1997 then in 2001 was headhunted by a recruiter for the Cabrini medical centre in Manhattan, Chaloner was on his way to his interview with Cabrini when the second plane struck the world trade centre on September 11th 2001, he later went for his interview and got the job he describes this as a "labor of love," Although in 2006 the Berger Commission decided that as the hospital was financially a disaster it had to close and in 2008 it did just that.

Robert Chaloner came to Southampton for an interview in 2006, before this his visits to the Hamptons were brief, he arrived in the early hours and drove around 'Gin Lane' he recalls thinking to himself "I could do this, It's pretty spectacular out here" When he took over the Southampton hospital the finances were in pretty bad shape although nowhere near as bad as what he had seen in Cabrini, a source for gateway Hampshire commented saying "While at Cabrini Chaloner was rocked slightly with not being able to get the hospital out of financial disaster and was determined not to let the same thing strike twice" Along with Chief Nursing Officer Patricia Darcey they were able to turn the hospital around, together they added doctors and residencies and profitable satellite offices across the South Fork.

The publics perception of the hospital was very low, the hospital was a joke commonly used at cocktail parties, Chaloner visited with every local organization to hear their concerns about the hospital when he came on board, Our source from Gateway Hampshire has stated "In doing this Mr Chaloner gained the respect and confidence that was well needed from the public" Now the hospital just had a record-breaking year for philanthropy, taking in more than $6 million in contributions. South Hampton hospital has come along way in the short space of four years; Chaloner has overseen facilities improvements, including a remodelled emergency room. But he says the ultimate goal is to build a new hospital, possibly on the Stony Brook Southampton campus he says "it is an ideal location, between two highways for ease of access and with educational opportunities"

http://westhampton-hamptonbays.patch.com/articles/robert-chaloner

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