Industrial heritage projects share £15m

Grants totalling more than £15m have been announced for eight industrial heritage projects in the UK by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

NLHF says some of the money will be used to deliver hundreds of apprenticeships, traineeships, volunteer, and employment opportunities.

Seven sites, including an old clay smoking pipe factory in Glasgow’s Barras market and a Grade II listed Police Section House in the former Royal Dockyard Chatham, will share £14.8m in funding. 

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The Pipe Factory will use its £1.6m grant to re-open as a cultural centre, while Chatham Dockyard will put its £3.5m award toward the creation of digital production studios with spaces for teaching, co-working, exhibits and dining.

Recipients also include The Pioneering Sailing Trust in Essex, which has been awarded £2.3m to develop training facilities and deliver a new apprenticeship scheme, while the Isle of Scilly the Old Town Hall will receive £4.6m to reopen as a museum and cultural centre for cinema, theatre and live music.

Meanwhile, Amgueddfa Lechi Cymru - the National Slate Museum in Llanberis - has separately been awarded £412,565 of development funding from NLHF. It will use this to progress plans to apply for a full grant of £9.m from NLHF at a later date.

Jane Richardson, Chief Executive for Amgueddfa Cymru, said the funding would “transform not only our museum but the way we can tell the story of the world heritage slate landscape of North West Wales.” 

“Through the development of new creative spaces, we will be able to bring the national collection and new exhibitions to North Wales for the first time. We will also create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to enjoy, learn and develop traditional craft skills.”

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, added: “These innovative buildings, trailblazing transport and pioneering technologies shaped our modern world and are core to our rich industrial heritage.

"They are a connection to the past, but these fantastic projects ensure that this heritage lives on in the future, equipping a new generation with the skills to maintain the fabric of this heritage and creatively using these sites for new and imaginative uses at the heart of their communities.”