RECOVERY GRANT DELAYS
Lines still waiting for Covid funds.
ANUMBER OF heritage railways awarded Culture Recovery Fund grants are yet to receive them, Steam Railway can exclusively reveal.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport revealed on April 2 the grant recipients, who were required to spend the money by the end of June. However, an urgent survey conducted by the Heritage Railway Association on May 19 found 12 of its members had yet to receive the funding. As this issue closed for press, that total had dropped to six.
The HRA survey said issues included “first payments being withheld, longwinded renegotiations and a lack of communication.” Steve Oates, the HRA’s CEO, hit out at the delays: “A small number of our members are still awaiting quite large sums. These railways are reliant on the CRF payments to get them back on track and ready to meet the demand of an already extremely busy staycation summer in the UK,” he told Steam Railway, adding the organisation has “taken steps on behalf of members to raise the issue of the unpaid funds at government level.”
Sources at heritage railways have privately expressed frustration that funding – which in many cases is a lifeline to keep lines afloat during the pandemic – had been delayed. Ian Crowder, press officer for the Gloucestershire
Warwickshire Steam Railway – which is one of the six outstanding railways affected – said: “When the Culture Secretary [Oliver Dowden] visited our railway on May 28, we did tackle him on the grant issue delay and he promised on behalf of the heritage railway movement to get things moving, but we are yet to receive this money or hear from him. This is hugely frustrating.”
A government spokesperson said: “Our unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund is the largest one-off investment in UK culture. We are working at pace to deliver grants as soon as possible with over 85% of round two recipients having their funding paid out already.”