Castle Espie Wetland Centre receives grant of £203,400 from the Heritage Recovery Fund to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic
Castle Espie Wetland Centre has been awarded £203,400 to help recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant will enable Castle Espie Wetland Centre to cover the income lost as a result of having to close to visitors during lockdown.
Castle Espie Wetland Centre has been awarded £203,400 to help recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund announced grants to help 50 organisations and 41 individuals adapt, recover and re-open following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grants from the Heritage Recovery Fund were awarded to a wide range of organisations and individuals in the heritage sector, from historic sites, attractions and landscapes, to tour guides and specialist heritage conservators.
The grant will enable Castle Espie Wetland Centre to cover the income lost as a result of having to close to visitors during lockdown and help the charity to maintain the wetland habitat and heritage site to a high standard in advance of reopening.
Speaking about the significance of the grant, Paul Stewart, Centre Manager at Castle Espie Wetland Centre said:
“We’re grateful to the Department for Communities and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for providing this funding. Thanks to this grant, we can continue paying vital costs and look after our building so it’s safe and ready for visitors when we re-open again.”
The Heritage Recovery Fund is part of the £29 million Executive allocation that was made to the Department for Communities to support the arts, culture, heritage and language sectors which have been severely impacted by COVID-19.
This is the latest package of support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support the heritage sector across the UK throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Last year, the organisation committed over £600million of National Lottery and Government funding to more than 1,500 heritage organisations, along with expertise and advice on adapting to the pandemic.
Paul Mullan, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“We are grateful to the Department for Communities for providing this funding and enabling us to help a wide range of organisations and individuals in Northern Ireland’s heritage sector to recover from the current crisis.
“The risks to heritage sites, attractions and organisations from a sudden and dramatic loss of income as a result of the pandemic, have put the heritage and visitor economy in crisis, and this funding will play a vital role in their recovery.
“Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, creating economic prosperity and supporting personal wellbeing. All of these are going to be vitally important as we emerge from the current pandemic.”
To find out more about The National Lottery Heritage Fund, go to: www.heritagefund.org.uk
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