MORE than £100,000 is being spent to bring one of Launceston’s iconic buildings back to life.

When thinking of Launceston, two iconic structures come to mind, the town’s historic castle and its Southgate Arch. For a number of years the arch, next to the Cornish & Devon Post office, has been out of use — previously having been used as a prison, museum, art gallery and photography studio. However, work is now being undertaken to bring it back into use.

Launceston Town Council, which owns the building, has announced that, thanks to a grant from Historic England, improvements are being made.

The project is a partnership between the council and Historic England, after the arch was placed on Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk Register’, with the organisation providing a grant of £105,000 for the works.

A spokesperson for the council explained: “This project is being carried out with Launceston Town Council working in partnership with Historic England, and the works would not be possible without funding from the UK government, Historic England, who are also ensuring that all works are carried out to the correct specifications due to the historical significance and importance of the building and the town council.”

Historic England has said that it hopes these urgent repairs to the exterior of the arch should lead to the site being removed from the list.

A Historic England spokesperson added: “Launceston Southgate Arch is a grade I listed building and is also protected as a scheduled monument. We have given a grant of £105,000 to the Town Council who own the building, to help with urgent repairs to the exterior of the arch.

“This should lead to it to being brought back into use and eventually, being removed from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.”