£100,000 to improve Brontë site facilities

A BELOVED beacon of Yorkshire's literary history at the Brontë Parsonage Museum is to receive a £100,000 boost to make it more accessible to all.

The world-famous visitor attraction near Haworth, where the Brontës lived and wrote their famous novels, welcomes thousands of people from across the world each year.

Now the new funding from Arts Council England, together with sums secured under Bradford City of Culture 2025, will go towards fully accessible bathrooms.

The present lack of facilities is a "huge barrier to access", the Brontë Society has said, and the funding will make a huge difference.

Rebecca Yorke, museum director, said teams were “thrilled” by news of the funding and very appreciate of Arts Council England’s support.

She said: “Visitor facilities are an essential part of a day or evening out and this development will have a significant, positive impact on the thousands of people who visit our museum each year.

“We are looking forward to construction commencing this summer and having the new facilities in place in readiness for Bradford’s important year as UK City of Culture in 2025.” Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, said: “This infrastructure investment will help a whole range of different cultural organisations across England to flourish, increasing opportunities for people to enjoy creatively excellent cultural events close to where they live.

“It’s particularly important that we’re making this happen in communities where cultural investment has historically been low.”

And Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Libraries, added: “Cultural venues enrich our lives, and it’s vital that their infrastructure matches the excellence of the creative work that goes on inside them.”