£60 million available to protect the UK’s national heritage
The government has announced that 20 organisations in England will benefit from £60 million to safeguard our national heritage for future generations.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport funding, that has been awarded to organisations including the V&A, The Natural History Museum and the British Library, has supported 100 projects for essential maintenance works delayed by the pandemic. It will help projects which were stalled due to the pandemic reach completion to allow institutions to welcome back visitors this summer.
The £60 million investment builds on the almost £2 billion committed to the humanities, heritage and cultural sectors through the Culture Recovery Fund, that has supported a lot more than 5,000 organisations through the pandemic.
It is hoped the latest funding injection will increase accessibility at national tourist attractions and help organisations meet net-zero targets by supporting energy efficiency projects in the Royal Armouries, providing grants for electric boilers at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire, and upgrading insulation at Tate Liverpool.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “We’ve given £60 million to safeguard the priceless collections and heritage at a number of our beloved cultural institutions so they can participate in by future generations. This develops our £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund, ensuring that we continue to protect our heritage and culture throughout this pandemic and are in a position to open up our historic institutions for everybody to savor this summer.”
As along with museums and galleries, funding can also be helping organisations such as the Royal Parks whose green spaces were enjoyed by Londoners during the pandemic. £2.Two million will maintain footpaths, create nature habitats, protect parkland and landscapes, and repair boundary walls and bridges.
