Heritage sites to receive National Lottery funding

Heritage sites across England are to be awarded more than £24m in National Lottery funding to help them plan for the future, as part of a £3.6 bn 10-year investment strategy.

Some of the sites to receive funding include Crystal Palace Park in South London, the Gardener’s House in Penzance, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the Piece Hall in Halifax.

At Crystal Palace Park, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £304,000 towards a wider regeneration project. The initial amount will cover the first phase of the project which will last 14 months. This part of the project will go towards restoring the park’s lakes, dinosaur playground and information centre. The dinosaur sculptures, which have been there for around 170 years are the highest priority for the project as they are on Historic England’s heritage at risk register due to their poor condition.

Speaking to reporters, Lydia Lee, Assistant Director of Regeneration at Bromley Council, reaffirmed this saying that the dinosaurs were never designed to last this long. She said: “Over time they have struggled being in the elements, they contract and expand with the frost and drought and it’s the weather that has the biggest impact on them.”

The beginning stages of the project has been focusing on how to repair and restore the sculptures for the future.

Other locations that will benefit from the new investment includes the Gardener’s House in Penzance, Cornwall who have been given £2m to redevelop a historic stable block into a community hub and education centre. Elsewhere in England, Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum has been given £3m and Halifax’s Piece Hall has received £650,000. London’s Tottenham High Road has also received £2.6m for a regeneration project.

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, told reporters: “We’re delighted that thanks to players of the National Lottery, we can save much-loved heritage like Crystal Palace Park all over the UK and create benefits for people, places and our natural environment. Our funding will help ensure that it continues to do just that for generations to come.”

Money has also been given for a new project at the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage in Leicester.