£900k for SevernValley Railway
the arts at this incredibly difficult time. This is a life-saver for MAC and the benefit will be felt immediately as we plan for our reopening in 2021.
“MAC is a very complex building and this emergency grant will help us to make important physical alterations necessary to support visitors, staff and artists’ health and safety.
“It will also help us to operate as many of MAC’s popular services as possible under new Covid-19 restrictions.” Nationally, venues such as Liverpool’s Cavern Club, Bristol Old Vic and London Symphony Orchestra were among those to receive grants.
ONE of the Midlands’ best-loved visitor attractions has also been thrown a £900,000 lifeline to see it through the pandemic.
The Severn Valley Railway received the financial boost from the Culture Recovery Fund.
The Worcestershire heritage railway said it had lost £2.5 million this year due to lockdown restrictions.
It will receive £906,000 to help it through the next six months.
The chairman of Severn Valley Railway, Nick Paul, said the funding would play an “essential part” in its survival.
He said: “Although we’ve been running services again for more than two months now, we won’t be able to make up for such a severe drop in income.
“The Severn Valley Railway plays a huge part in the Midlands economy and is close to the hearts of the 250,000 visitors who come to us every year.”
Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston also received a £188,000 windfall. The gardens reopened in June and despite a healthy number of visitors returning since then, it has received no revenue from schools, events, weddings or conferences.
Development director Elizabeth Frostick said the grant would secure the short-term future.