Headline News
■ Summer thrown an £8.8 million Government lifeline
■ Phased restart for winner Worth Valley Railway
■ Minehead: Why have we been overlooked this time?
■ Bluebell plans May 20 start and August 60+1 anniversary
■ Slowly but surely, Beamish returns to life
MORE than 60 heritage railways and tramways, museums, and other venues with a significant railway presence have been handed £8,844,000 in grant aid to back their spring reopening and fund post-lockdown operating costs until June.
Grants in round two of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Culture Recovery Fund For Heritage (CRF) grants, made through either the Arts Council or the National Lottery Heritage Fund/Historic England, were revealed on April 2.
Overall, almost £400 million in grants and loans have been given to more than 2,700 organisations, said Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, aimed at helping them survive after suffering huge financial losses during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the biggest winners this time are the Great Central, North Yorkshire Moors, Nene Valley, Keighley & Worth Valley, North Norfolk, Bluebell, Churnet Valley and South Devon railways, London Transport Museum, and Beamish: The North of England Open Air Museum.
The delivery of the grants has been rapturously received by the railway heritage sector, although they are being seen for what they are – a lifeline to cover essential operational costs rather than windfalls to boost major development projects.
The latest round bring the
Government’s total investment across grants, capital and repayable finance from the CRF so far to more than £1.2 billion for more than 5,000 individual culture and heritage organisations and sites.
Almost all of the original £1.57 billion from the CRF has now been allocated, with further grants to be finalised over the coming weeks.
Mr Dowden said: “Our recordbreaking CRF has already helped thousands of 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.”
Boost
National Lottery Heritage Fund chief executive officer Ros Kerslake 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.
“I am very pleased twe 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 well-being.”
London Transport Museum has been awarded £875,000 for its reopening on May 17 (News, page 47).
It was forced to close its doors in March 2020, and though more than 40% of visitors returned when it reopened in September, reduced ticket sales, shop sales, and venue hire income left it facing a total income shortfall of almost £7 million. Emergency support came in the form of a £1.75-million grant during the first round last autumn.
Museum director Sam Mullins said: “This essential funding gives us a realistic shot at long-term recovery. It puts us back on track as we welcome visitors again and kick-start the delivery of education and employability programmes in person.”
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has received a further £587,000, on top of the £1.94 million it received from the CRF in the autumn.
NYMR Trust chairman John Bailey said: “We are delighted – it will inevitably plug the gap from the latest coronavirus lockdown.
“We can now start to look ahead and plan to reopen, welcoming passengers and volunteers back along the heritage line this spring.”
The Mid-Hants Railway Ltd and Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society Ltd’s grant, listed by the DCMS as £496,200, will help the Watercress Line to fund its April 12 restart, including the four-day steam gala running between April 30 and May 3, from which GWR 0-6-0PT No. 6435, from the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, has been announced as the first visitor.
Mike Kerfoot, chairman of the Nene Valley Railway, which has received £479,765, said: “Nothing could have prepared us for the year we have just experienced.
“The challenges many of us have faced on many levels have been unimaginable.
“The Arts Council England Culture Recovery Grant is a step change for us, and we are very thankful for the award. Emerging into the daylight, we can face the challenges ahead with renewed confidence.
“Critically, we can move much faster to resume our operations and welcome back our staff, our volunteers and our visitors.”
Awards
The biggest winner in terms of the sector’s awards announced on April 2 was the Ironbridge George Museum Trust. The attraction includes Blists Hill Victorian Town, where a replica of Richard Trevithick’s 1802 Coalbrookdale locomotive runs on a 3ft gauge line (News, page 20).
The South Devon Railway has been given £165,900, and has also been offered an additional award up to a maximum of £257,800. This is to reinflate its cash reserves to a value of eight weeks, based on average annual turnover and projected unrestricted reserves at July 2021.
The railway’s chairman, Jon Morton, said: “It will certainly provide us with