An award of more than £900,000 in funding to organisations has been welcomed.
Copeland MP Trudy Harrison has welcomed the announcement that five organisations in her constituency will receive over £900,000 in the latest round of Culture Recovery Fund grants.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has today announced that 925 organisations will receive a share of £107 million in the third round of grants, including:
- Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Company – £451,500
- Cumbria Theatre Trust/ Theatre by the Lake – £135,000
- Keswick Museum and Art Gallery – £77,400
- Rosehill Arts Trust – £176,807
- Keswick Alhambra Ltd – £84,782
Rosehill, in Moresby near Whitehaven, has been awarded the grant by Arts Council England.
The much-needed funding will help to replace ticket income that has been lost due to the long-running effects of the pandemic. It will also go towards meeting the costs of keeping the Grade II listed theatre running through the winter and into spring 2022, so the team can continue delivering a variety of live performances, films, workshops and exhibitions, complemented by digital work and community-based activities.
Deanne Shallcross, Rosehill’s executive director, said: ”The Culture Recovery Fund has been a lifeline for Rosehill and we are hugely grateful to DCMS and ACE for their continued support. Without doubt, they have helped save our much-loved community asset by steering us towards financial viability throughout significant, ongoing challenges.
”Our cumulative total of £560,000 from three rounds of CRF and £117,500 from the Emergency Response Fund has enabled us to get back up and running, continue delivering a variety of creative experiences for the West Cumbria community, and develop plans for the longer term. We feel incredibly fortunate to still be here as without CRF we would have been in a very different position.
”Those who work in the creative industry – and indeed many others – continue to be hit hard by the ongoing effects of COVID and we recognise that not everyone will have been successful in their bid for financial support. Our thoughts are with colleagues across the sector and we hope everyone can make it through.”
Deanne also acknowledged additional support that has made a difference to Rosehill during the pandemic. She added: “As well as CRF grants, we’ve been fortunate to receive assistance from local and county councils, other government schemes, trusts, foundations and a loyal band of individual donors – without all of whom we wouldn’t be here today.
“I also want to acknowledge the commitment of Rosehill’s resolute board of trustees, who have had to make some extremely tough decisions over the past 18 months, along with our dedicated team of staff and volunteers, who have been astoundingly flexible throughout these challenging times.
“And a huge thanks to everyone who has visited since we reopened in the summer, from a host of freelance practitioners to audiences of all ages attending performances, films, exhibitions and workshops.
“We’re still facing tough times, and we know not everyone feels able to return to theatres just yet. The funding we’ve received will help to ensure Rosehill lives to fight another day and is there when those people are also ready to come back.”
Alhambra Cinema
The Culture Recovery Fund has helped the Alhambra Cinema survive the enforced closures during the coronavirus pandemic, and this latest round has additionally contributed to the huge investment the owners chose to make during the second lockdown in early 2021.
The grant has covered the cost of a state-of-the-art ventilation system installed in a brand new, 28-seater second screen, tucked under the balcony of the 108-year-old building, so as to preserve all the original features and the balcony and stalls layout of the 175-seater traditional dingle-screen picturehouse auditorium.
The new auditorium will allow the Alhambra to screen a more diverse range of films to cater for younger audiences as well as their loyal older customers, made up primarily of regular visitors to the Lakes and holidaymakers.
The British Film Institute, which administers the Culture Recovery Fund for independent cinemas, has also funded the Alhambra’s new Young Programmers scheme, which engages pupils from Keswick School in selecting one feature a week, and involves them learning all about how film exhibition works.
A Saturday Kids Club has also just been launched, so the cinema will now be catering to the full range of local residents. Volunteers who helped out over the summer, painting, decorating and cleaning as the cinema made a final push to open for No Time to Die have now been helping usher in the huge numbers of customers who have visited since the cinema reopened on October 15.
With almost 5,000 admissions so far, the latest Bond release has provided the Alhambra with its best numbers since 2008’s Mamma Mia.
“It has been such a pleasure to see people admiring our handiwork,” says Alison Leighton, one of the dozens of volunteers who made enormous contributions to the renovation of the cinema, and who is now regularly enjoying socialising with customers in the restored foyer, decorated with light features created from the 35mm cinema reels that were used prior to the digitisation of the cinema in 2012.
New director and co-owner, Jonathan Moore, says: “The Cultural Recovery Fund has kept the cinema afloat whilst we invested and reconfigured the business to ensure its long-term survival. It’s been a frantic year, but we’re now reopened and seeing the results already, with new, younger audiences coming through the doors.”
Copeland MP Trudy Harrison added: “I am thrilled that five organisations in the Copeland constituency are receiving funding totalling £925,489 in this latest round of grants from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
“These attractions, theatres, galleries, museums and cinemas are a much-loved part of our cultural offering here in Copeland. Our cultural organisations have already benefited from funding in previous rounds of Culture Recovery Fund grants, and this significant new funding announced today further reflects the Government’s commitment to the sector and recognises how important such venues are to our communities and visitors.”
Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway
This £451,500 funding will help the railway with its recovery and give it a much-needed boost to get through the winter months ahead.
Peter Hensman, Director Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, said: “The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway has had a very tough and difficult time through the pandemic, having had to reduce passengers because of social distancing and cut important maintenance work to conserve funds.
“This grant will be of enormous help in securing our infrastructure and rolling stock and will ensure that this much-loved little heritage railway continues to enchant Lake District visitors in the years ahead.”
Gill Haigh, Managing Director of Cumbria Tourism, added: “Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway is such an iconic attraction for the Western Lake District and Coast. It is great to see they have been recognised by the Culture Recovery Fund as it will help to safeguard this long-standing heritage attraction as we head into winter.”
Rydal Mount
Rydal Mount in Rydal, near Ambleside, received £31,330 from the fund.
Christopher Wordsworth Andrew, the great great great great-grandson of the poet, whose family still own Rydal Mount, said: “We are very pleased to receive this grant because it has helped us to make the necessary adjustments and improvements to keep Rydal Mount open for visitors during these very difficult times. This house is a treasure for the nation, as the home of our most loved poet, and it is so important to keep his memory and his legacy intact.”
One of the innovations has been a series of garden gazebos to enable safe outdoor afternoon teas, lunches and special events at the house.
For the full announcement from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, visit: 925 cultural organisations supported by £107 million in latest recovery fund – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
