The Lakeland Arts Trust’s £10m plan to redevelop the Windermere Steamboat Museum in Cumbria has been given a boost by a grant from the government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).
The RGF is a £2.4bn programme operating across England from 2011 to 2015. The Lakeland Arts Trust’s scheme was one of the 130 projects that successfully bid for money in the third round.
The trust, which was awarded £1.25m, is one of the few heritage projects to secure money from the fund, which is managed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Gordon Watson, the director of the Lakeland Arts Trust, said he believed the bid was successful because his organisation was able to clearly demonstrate the positive effect that the Windermere Steamboat Museum project would have on tourism and employment in the area.
One of element of the scheme will involve training people in traditional boat-building skills.
Watson said the scheme grant will also help leverage other funding, which is one of the aims of the RGF programme. In spring the Lakeland Arts Trust will make a stage two application to the Heritage Lottery Fund in a bid to secure £7.5m. It is also seeking £1m in private investment.
The Windermere Steamboat Museum is expected to open in 2015. The architect is Carmody Groarke and the exhibition designer is Real Studios.
The Lakeland Arts Trust operates Abbot Hall Art Gallery; Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House; and the Museum of Lakeland Life & Industry. The trust took over responsibility for the Windermere Steamboat Museum, which is currently closed, in 2007.
The RGF is a £2.4bn programme operating across England from 2011 to 2015. The Lakeland Arts Trust’s scheme was one of the 130 projects that successfully bid for money in the third round.
The trust, which was awarded £1.25m, is one of the few heritage projects to secure money from the fund, which is managed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Gordon Watson, the director of the Lakeland Arts Trust, said he believed the bid was successful because his organisation was able to clearly demonstrate the positive effect that the Windermere Steamboat Museum project would have on tourism and employment in the area.
One of element of the scheme will involve training people in traditional boat-building skills.
Watson said the scheme grant will also help leverage other funding, which is one of the aims of the RGF programme. In spring the Lakeland Arts Trust will make a stage two application to the Heritage Lottery Fund in a bid to secure £7.5m. It is also seeking £1m in private investment.
The Windermere Steamboat Museum is expected to open in 2015. The architect is Carmody Groarke and the exhibition designer is Real Studios.
The Lakeland Arts Trust operates Abbot Hall Art Gallery; Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House; and the Museum of Lakeland Life & Industry. The trust took over responsibility for the Windermere Steamboat Museum, which is currently closed, in 2007.
