Beamish may miss out on £4m of ERDF funding
As DCLG and LEPs negotiate criteria, English museums may be excluded
Beamish Museum, in County Durham, may miss out on a £4m funding application to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is negotiating with English local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) over the funding criteria for the ERDF, which may see museums excluded.
A DCLG spokesman said that although not-for-profit organisations were technically eligible for the ERDF, the government was still identifying what types of business would fit the fund.
“DCLG and the LEPs are still negotiating the criteria,” he said. “Whether that includes tourism organisations, the size of the organisation, or whether it is a not-for-profit.”
Beamish Museum wants to raise £4m for Remaking Beamish, a £16.7m capital project that would create new museum buildings with an estimated 95 new jobs and 100,000 visitors over the course of the four-year project from 2016-18.
An application to the Local Growth Fund was turned down last year, and the museum is now looking to apply to the ERDF.
“We are still not sure whether we eligible for the fund, but this is a broader issue for museums about whether we can access the ERDF,” said Richard Evans, the museum’s director.
“If we can’t secure ERDF funding we will keep battling on and I’m confident we will be able to dust ourselves down and carry on.”
A spokesman for the North East LEP said: "While all decision-making powers regarding funding for the 2014-2020 EU programme lie with the UK Government and the EU, the North East LEP is lobbying to ensure that the region has more influence over these decisions.
"We are lobbying to ensure that funding decisions in the 2014-2020 programme reflect our Strategic Economic Plan. Tourism is an important part of our plan as is the prosperity of Beamish."
But according to local MEP Jude Kirton-Darling, Beamish Museum was removed from an early draft of the LEP’s regional strategy document, which guides the allocation of the funds, because it is not a for-profit enterprise.
At time of going to press the North East LEP had not responded to requests from Museums Journal to comment on this.
Kirton-Darling has written to DCLG requesting the allocation of EU development funds include cultural attractions and not-for-profit enterprises.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is negotiating with English local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) over the funding criteria for the ERDF, which may see museums excluded.
A DCLG spokesman said that although not-for-profit organisations were technically eligible for the ERDF, the government was still identifying what types of business would fit the fund.
“DCLG and the LEPs are still negotiating the criteria,” he said. “Whether that includes tourism organisations, the size of the organisation, or whether it is a not-for-profit.”
Beamish Museum wants to raise £4m for Remaking Beamish, a £16.7m capital project that would create new museum buildings with an estimated 95 new jobs and 100,000 visitors over the course of the four-year project from 2016-18.
An application to the Local Growth Fund was turned down last year, and the museum is now looking to apply to the ERDF.
“We are still not sure whether we eligible for the fund, but this is a broader issue for museums about whether we can access the ERDF,” said Richard Evans, the museum’s director.
“If we can’t secure ERDF funding we will keep battling on and I’m confident we will be able to dust ourselves down and carry on.”
A spokesman for the North East LEP said: "While all decision-making powers regarding funding for the 2014-2020 EU programme lie with the UK Government and the EU, the North East LEP is lobbying to ensure that the region has more influence over these decisions.
"We are lobbying to ensure that funding decisions in the 2014-2020 programme reflect our Strategic Economic Plan. Tourism is an important part of our plan as is the prosperity of Beamish."
But according to local MEP Jude Kirton-Darling, Beamish Museum was removed from an early draft of the LEP’s regional strategy document, which guides the allocation of the funds, because it is not a for-profit enterprise.
At time of going to press the North East LEP had not responded to requests from Museums Journal to comment on this.
Kirton-Darling has written to DCLG requesting the allocation of EU development funds include cultural attractions and not-for-profit enterprises.