The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea's £4.8m application to redevelop London's Exhibition Road has been rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The project was a reworking of an earlier £35m scheme designed to transform the infrastructure of the area and improve access to a range of venues, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and the Serpentine Gallery. The Big Lottery Fund rejected a £25m application in May 2006, which led the council to approach alternative funders such as the HLF.
'The decision [not to support the Exhibition Road scheme] was not taken lightly, particularly as we recognised the importance of the Exhibition Road tunnel, which links many museums to the tube station,' said Carole Souter, the director of the HLF. 'However, it was a competitive round of funding and the quality of applications was very high.'
The HLF decision was criticised by the Exhibition Road Cultural Group (ERCG), which is made up of 15 national, cultural and educational organisations situated around Exhibition Road, including the museums. Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea councils are also involved.
'The ERCG is extremely disappointed that the HLF cannot fund the renovation by the local authorities of the tunnel linking the underground station to Exhibition Road. We will continue to support the well-developed plans to transform Exhibition Road.'
There was better fundraising news for the campaign to save Dumfries House. A range of organisations and individuals have worked together to raise the £45m needed to prevent the property in East Ayrshire being sold off, and its contents split up. The 18th-century house was designed by architect brothers Robert, John and James Adam, and contains an extensive range of Thomas Chippendale furniture.
Among those who contributed were the Monument Trust (£9m), the National Heritage Memorial Fund (£7m), the Scottish government (£5m), and the Art Fund (£2.25m). The Prince of Wales guaranteed a £20m loan from one of his charities. The successful fundraising meant that an auction of the house's contents, planned for last month at Christie's, was cancelled.
The aim now is to open the house to the public next year. This will be overseen by an independent trust, the Great Steward's Dumfries House Trust, which is being created to organise the presentation and maintenance of the house. The trust should be up and running by the end of this year.
The project was a reworking of an earlier £35m scheme designed to transform the infrastructure of the area and improve access to a range of venues, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and the Serpentine Gallery. The Big Lottery Fund rejected a £25m application in May 2006, which led the council to approach alternative funders such as the HLF.
'The decision [not to support the Exhibition Road scheme] was not taken lightly, particularly as we recognised the importance of the Exhibition Road tunnel, which links many museums to the tube station,' said Carole Souter, the director of the HLF. 'However, it was a competitive round of funding and the quality of applications was very high.'
The HLF decision was criticised by the Exhibition Road Cultural Group (ERCG), which is made up of 15 national, cultural and educational organisations situated around Exhibition Road, including the museums. Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea councils are also involved.
'The ERCG is extremely disappointed that the HLF cannot fund the renovation by the local authorities of the tunnel linking the underground station to Exhibition Road. We will continue to support the well-developed plans to transform Exhibition Road.'
There was better fundraising news for the campaign to save Dumfries House. A range of organisations and individuals have worked together to raise the £45m needed to prevent the property in East Ayrshire being sold off, and its contents split up. The 18th-century house was designed by architect brothers Robert, John and James Adam, and contains an extensive range of Thomas Chippendale furniture.
Among those who contributed were the Monument Trust (£9m), the National Heritage Memorial Fund (£7m), the Scottish government (£5m), and the Art Fund (£2.25m). The Prince of Wales guaranteed a £20m loan from one of his charities. The successful fundraising meant that an auction of the house's contents, planned for last month at Christie's, was cancelled.
The aim now is to open the house to the public next year. This will be overseen by an independent trust, the Great Steward's Dumfries House Trust, which is being created to organise the presentation and maintenance of the house. The trust should be up and running by the end of this year.
