Oswestry Town Museum among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the
latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund
This award will allow us to prepare for re-opening the museum in May
including a special re-opening event and updated displays as well as allowing
us to make the museum rooms Covid safe for our visitors.
Oswestry Town Museum in The Guildhall, Oswestry has received a grant of £11,600 from
the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and
reopen.
Nearly £400 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the
country including [Organisation] in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery
Fund, the Culture Secretary announced today.
Oswestry Town Museum is a volunteer-led museum dedicated to preserving the
heritage and history of Oswestry and the surrounding area, this award is crucial to our
plans to re-open to the public in May for what is our 10th year.
Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800
cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations
dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
This brings the Governments total investment across grants, capital and repayable finance
from the Culture Recovery Fund so far to more than £1.2 billion across over 5,000 individual
cultural and heritage organisations and sites.
The second round of awards made today will help organisations to look ahead to the spring
and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and
cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping
hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:
“Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of
culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis
they’ve ever faced.”
Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through
their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better
times ahead."
Mark Hignett from the museum, said:
“grants like this are the very lifeline for organisations such as ours and will allow us to re-open our doors with new displays
and a Covid safe environment.”
Ros Kerslake, CEO of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“Spring is definitely here, bringing not only sunshine but that sense of optimism and
hope for the future. We are all looking forward to heritage places and other visitor
attractions reopening and I am very pleased that we have been able to support
DCMS in delivering this vital funding to ensure the UK’s heritage sector can rebuild
and thrive, boosting local economies, creating jobs and supporting personal
wellbeing.”
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said:
“The value of our heritage sites and the people who run them has been amply
demonstrated, as they have provided an anchor for so many of us through the dark
days of the last year. Vital grants from the Culture Recovery Fund have helped them
survive and will now help them recover, as the places we all cherish start to reopen
in the months ahead.”
The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to
ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public
health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by the National Lottery Heritage
Fund and Historic England as well as the British Film Institute and Arts Council England
Notes to Editors.
At the Budget, the Chancellor announced the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund would be
boosted with a further £300 million investment. Details of this third round of funding will be
announced soon.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s
heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in
the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk. Follow @HeritageFundUK
on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund
About Historic England
We are Historic England, the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate
England’s spectacular historic environment, from beaches and battlefields to parks and pie
shops. We protect, champion and save the places that define who we are and where we’ve
come from as a nation. We care passionately about the stories they tell, the ideas they
represent and the people who live, work and play among them. Working with communities
and specialists we share our passion, knowledge and skills to inspire interest, care and
conservation, so everyone can keep enjoying and looking after the history that surrounds us
all.