- £146,326 is being provided to help iconic cultural and heritage organisations in South west Bedfordshire reopen and recover.
- Across the country, more than 2,700 culture and heritage organisations and independent cinemas are being supported to survive and thrive with nearly £400 million.
- This is part of the unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, worth almost £2 billion, the largest one-off investment in the arts in our history.
Andrew Selous MP has welcomed the announcement that South West Bedfordshire will receive £146,326 to support iconic cultural and heritage organisations and independent cinemas as they reopen and recover from coronavirus.
The Immersion Theatre will receive £91,000 to enable the continuation of their show the Wizard of Oz and to cover the pre-production and rehearsal costs for their three summer shows, Jungle Book; Three Musketeers and Romeo & Juliet. The Next Generation Youth Theatre will get £17,494 so that they can deliver theatre dance and other creative arts activities for young people in partnership with schools and youth organisations. Finally, the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway Museum will benefit from £37,832.
This is part of the £400 million in grants and loans being delivered to over 2,700 organisations across England, to help cultural and heritage organisations reopen and thrive in the better times ahead.
This brings the Government's total investment across grants, capital and repayable finance from the Culture Recovery Fund so far to more than £1.2 billion across over 5,000 individual cultural and heritage organisations and sites.
Nearly all of the original £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund has now been allocated, and the Chancellor announced a further £300 million boost for the Fund at last month’s Budget, taking direct government investment in the sector since the start of the pandemic to almost £2 billion.
The Government is protecting our most treasured arts and cultural institutions – organisations that are irreplaceable parts of our heritage – ensuring they can survive in the short-term and thrive in the future.
Commenting, Andrew Selous MP said:
“The past year has had a devastating impact on cultural and heritage organisations in South West Bedfordshire, so it is fantastic news that £146,326 is being provided to support these most valued organisations.
I’m really excited that as we set out on our cautious roadmap to reopening up this sector, we’ll soon be able to enjoy these extraordinary institutions once again, and I’m delighted that the support is being put in place to help them thrive in the future.”