Heritage Fund awards £18m to 22 organisations

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced the 22 successful applicants to the Culture Recovery Fund, including the Black Country Living Museum and Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Trust.

The latest grants are the final awards from the first round of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund. The British Film Institute also made awards totalling £5m to 33 independent cinemas. The aim of the fund is to “restart regeneration and maintenance projects that were planned before the Covid pandemic and now face delays or increased costs”.

More than 90% of the grants allocated by the National Lottery Heritage Fund have been awarded to heritage projects outside of London. The largest grant (£3.74m) was awarded to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, towards the largest development in its 46-year history to create historical areas spanning the 1940s to 1960s, as well as a new visitor centre.

Other recipients include:

• The Royal Pavilion Estate, Brighton (£1m)
• Beamish Museum, County Durham (£975,500)
• Museum of the Home (Geffrye Museum Trust), London (£692,000)
• The Archway Centre: Roman Baths Learning Centre and World Heritage Centre, Bath (£359,600)
• Thackray Museum, Leeds (£174,600)

A full list of recipients can be found on the Lottery Fund’s website.

Ros Kerslake, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “These are all ongoing major refurbishment and restoration projects, funded by us, which have been threatened by the pandemic.

“From the oldest surviving outdoor swimming baths to a Victorian pier, and from a much-loved park to an historic abbey, these are all places that will enrich hundreds of lives when they reopen.

“We are delighted this extra funding from the Culture Recovery Fund will ensure that these exciting projects will go ahead.”