SelseyObservatory location

The Sir Patrick Moore Observatory, Selsey would be located at Selsey Bill - here we show the proposed site for the project, the ideal location for a community observatory.
Oval Field's unique suitability comes from it being almost at the tip of the peninsula, with a wide field of view overlooking the sea - leaving most of urban Selsey behind it and giving unparalleled astronomical "seeing" to the important South, East and West horizons.
Feasibility work is underway - first suggested in 2010, at present the concept is for a modest single storey observatory building (on less than 10% of the site) with solar, planetary and deep space telescopes and a small lecture theatre.
It might include a cafe to provide an income to help maintain the observatory and its associated community facilities (coastal defences, WCs, improved access etc).
There will be community consultation to help shape the project as part of the feasibility & design process, before any planning application is made.
For current information see www.selseyobservatory.org
POSTCRIPT & UPDATE 05.08.15:
The Viability Report which the Trust commissioned has been completed. It is well-researched and comprehensive, and represents the culmination of the extensive feasibility work that the Trust has undertaken on the Observatory. In short it demonstrates that:
a) an Observatory could provide much better community facilities at Oval Field (toilets, improved parking, better landscaping & disabled access, improved coastal path access, small cafe, tiered-seating auditorium) through the creation of an observatory building of some 700sq metres (roughly 10% of the site);
b) the facility would generate considerable interest in Selsey and local/visitor/educational use (principally as a centre of excellence for astronomical imaging), with activities on a scale commensurate with the site and its surroundings;
However, the crucial point emerging is that,
c) the facility would not be financially sustainable. The estimated operational deficit is some £7,000pa. This also means it would not produce the £6,000pa surplus needed to maintain Oval Field’s own sea defences, without which Oval Field (and any Observatory building on it) would be at risk from coastal erosion.
In the circumstances the Trust has concluded that whilst the project would have provided great facilities for Selsey and been a fitting working memorial to Sir Patrick Moore, it is not currently viable.
At some future date economic circumstances may improve and/or a backer may come forward to underwrite any operational deficit; also the impending erosion of the site may create an imperative to resurrect the project. But currently it is not viable and as such the Trust has decided to cease work on it.
The outcome will clearly be a disappointment to many people, especially after the hundreds of volunteer hours put into the project, but we must take an objective view in the light of sound evidence.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank those involved for their support, without which we would not have been able to undertake the feasibility studies to give the proposal the thorough, impartial examination it deserved.