- Almost 450 heritage organisations in England, including the Shuttleworth Trust have been awarded cash from the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage
- Grants of up to £1 million will deliver a lifeline for the heritage sector in England with further support to follow and larger grants for capital projects awarded through the Heritage Stimulus Fund
- First major tranche of funding from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund
The Shuttleworth Trust is one of 445 heritage organisations across the country set to receive a lifesaving financial boost from the government thanks to the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.
445 organisations will share £103 million, including the Shuttleworth Trustto help restart vital reconstruction work and maintenance on cherished heritage sites, keeping venues open and supporting those working in the sector.
The Shuttleworth Trust’s grant will secure the vital skills needed to keep its internationally significant Collection of the world’s oldest aircraft in flying condition. The Shuttleworth Collection includes the oldest flying aircraft in the world, a 1909 Bleriot XI. The jobs engineers who maintain it and the rest of the Collection have been saved after a year of much reduced income.
Funds have also been allocated to adapt the Collection’s much-loved visitor centre and to invest in digital skills.
This vital funding is from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritageand the Heritage Stimulus Fund – funded by Government and administered at arms length by Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Both funds are part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund which is designed to secure the future of Britain’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues with emergency grants and loans.
433 organisations will receive a share of £67 million from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage to help with costs for operating, reopening and recovery. This includes famous heritage sites across the country, from Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire to Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, Blyth Tall Ship to the Severn Valley Railway, the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincolnshire to the Piecehall in Halifax. The funds will save sites that are a source of pride for communities across the country.
12 organisations, including English Heritage, Landmark Trust, Historic Royal Palaces and the Canal and River Trust, will receive £34 million from the Heritage Stimulus Fund to restart construction and maintenance on cherished heritage sites to preserve visitor attractions and protect livelihoods for some of the most vulnerable heritage specialists and contractors in the sector.
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) has also been awarded a grant from the Culture Recovery Fund through Historic England. The AHF will use the funding to support charities and social enterprises occupying historic buildings to develop new business plans and strategies for organisations affected by the pandemic.
Rebecca Dalley, Executive Director, the Shuttleworth Trust, said: “Shuttleworth is treasured by its local community and it is also the repository of an unbroken tradition of engineering and flying since Richard Shuttleworth’s death in 1940. These skills were in real peril as the summer events that fund the winter salaries were cancelled or reduced. The Culture Recovery Fund has secured the future of an incomparable working collection that is managed by a team with irreplaceable heritage skills.”
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