17th Sept: NCI Stone Point repair
Corrosion to the shutter supports and peeling anti-graffiti paint
Exposed to the full force of the south-westerly winds, the NCI Stone Point station building has not weathered well. Anti-graffiti paint used soon after the station was put in place did not help since it did not allow the woodwork to breathe and now it is peeling from the wood. The metalwork holding the guides for the shutters was not galvanised and was rusting badly.
However thanks to some hard advocacy work by the Station Manager, the shutter guides have been replaced with part funding by the builders and a refurbishment programme organised with the generosity of the Community Social Caring programme of ExxonMobil Fawley.
So on Thursday 17th September I went out early to Lepe open the station so a group of volunteers from ExxonMobil could begin the work to sand down the woodwork and apply wood preservative. Three sides of the station were completed on the day and they planned to come back in two weeks time to finish the project.
The watchkeepers on duty on that day had to put up with the noise of the work, with sanding going on outside it was like being inside a bees nest! Once it is all finished, NCI Stone Point will be in a better state to face future winter weather. However the wood on the front of the station may well need replacing at some point.
