Five-year investment will support museums, heritage buildings, arts venues and libraries across England tackling capital maintenance backlogs.
The government has announced a £1.5bn package is to be invested in cultural organisations across England over a five-year period.
It is hoped to address urgent capital needs and help to prevent closures of more than 1,000 arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings.
The package includes more than £100m specifically earmarked for local museums struggling with maintenance backlogs and bills, expected to support up to 200 sites across the country.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the funding would tackle what DMCS described as more than a decade of underfunding.
The £1.5 billion comprises £760m for museums, £425m for arts venues through the Creative Foundations Fund, £230m for heritage, £80m for National Portfolio organisations receiving Arts Council England funding, and £27.5m for libraries.
Museum funding
Museum funding totals £760m, with £600m allocated to infrastructure for national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations. It is hoped to address critical maintenance and enable institutions to share collections and expertise nationally.
The remaining £160 million will support local and regional museums, with the Museum Estates and Development Fund helping tackle maintenance backlogs and a new £13.6m Museum Transformation programme, supporting organisations to move towards more sustainable business models. The funding is expected to directly support up to 200 local and regional museum sites across the country.
Laura Pye, Chair of National Museum Directors Council and Director of National Museums Liverpool, said the organisation is “especially encouraged by the commitment to transformation funding to support the sustainability of local and regional museums.”
Jenny Waldman, Director of Art Fund, added: “Museums have been placed under immense strain in recent years – this funding is a huge boost which recognises the crucial impact they have in communities and their central role in ensuring everyone across the country can enjoy our incredible cultural heritage.”
Heritage funding
The £230m heritage allocation includes £75m for at-risk heritage, providing grants for repairs and conservation of historic buildings, and £46m for the Heritage Revival Fund helping communities take control of local heritage and bring buildings back into public use.
Nandy said the funding “will keep the doors open and the lights on at thousands of arts organisations, museums, libraries and heritage buildings that might otherwise have been at real risk of closing”.
A new £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund will replace the previous £23 million Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, bringing religious heritage buildings into line with other heritage assets including historic houses and monuments.
Lord Mendoza, chairman of Historic England, said the funding will “act as a lifeline for heritage across the country, from places of worship to ancient pubs and will give the heritage sector a well-needed boost.”
Arts venue funding
£425m is to be allocated to arts venues through the Creative Foundations Fund, supporting approximately 300 capital projects, while the £80m for National Portfolio organisations represents part of a 5% uplift for these organisations next year.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, called the funding “a big boost for the arts organisations, museums and libraries that are the beating heart of towns and cities across England.”
Details still to be published
Full details of individual schemes, including specific requirements and application guidance, are still to be published.
The DCMS sponsored museums and cultural bodies who may receive funding from the £600m Public Bodies infrastructure Fund are: British Museum, Museum of the Home, Horniman Museum, Imperial War Museums (IWM), National Gallery, National Museums Liverpool, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, Royal Armouries. Royal Museums Greenwich and National Maritime Museum, Science Museum Group, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Tate Gallery Group, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), The Wallace Collection , The BFI, and The British Library.
