Arts funding

The trustees of a museum in Worcestershire are considering plans to register a local building as an 'Asset of Community Value' to secure new premises for its collection.

Tenbury Museum has also launched a fundraising campaign for funds to aid the purchase of a nearby recently decommissioned Methodist chapel.

Trustee Tracey Morris told the Ludlow Advisor that the “deteriorating conditions” of the museum’s current site at Goffs School meant it was no longer fit for purpose.

After failing to secure alternative venues, the museum group offered the asking price on Cornerstone Chapel in February, requesting twelve months to raise the necessary funds.

However, plans for the building to be listed on the open market are moving forward.

As a result, the museum has launched a fundraising campaign to secure the chapel through a combination of National Lottery grants, existing funds, and donations from the local community. 

The group is looking at options that would allow them to put down a holding deposit and rent the buildings during their campaign.

They are also considering registering the chapel as an Asset of Community Value, which would enact a ‘community right to bid’ with a six-month moratorium to allow finances to be raised.

A scheme to renovate an Isles of Scilly building and turn it into a museum has secured an additional £3.4m in funding.

The project, led by the Council of the Isles of Scilly and the Isles of Scilly Museum Association, aims to restore and extend the Grade II-listed St Mary's Town Hall and turn it into a museum and cultural centre.

The latest money, which comes from a programme managed by Cornwall Council funded by the UK government's shared Prosperity Fund, means the project is fully funded, with a total of £15.7m now raised.

Cornwall Council said the cultural centre and museum would provide a "much-needed" indoor venue for cinema, theatre and live music performances.

Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council's Portfolio Holder for Economy, said: "Once complete, it will create an enduring social and economic legacy for the islands while celebrating their unique culture and heritage."

A community theatre in Kent has asked the public for help maintaining its programme of activities after rising energy and supply costs have strained its resources.

The Astor Theatre in Deal said it has a £20,000 financial shortfall and needs to raise money to help support events, including theatre, film screenings and creative classes.

A crowdfunding campaign has raised nearly £4,000.

Board member Mig Kimpton said: "This theatre should be a beacon of creativity and support for everyone connected with Deal."

Building work to transform a former industrial building in Loughborough into a creative arts centre will begin this month.

The BBC reports that the £2.5m project to create a large-capacity, multi-purpose cultural centre for the town at the Generator Hall is due to be completed by next spring.

The Generator CIC, a community interest company managed by volunteers, said it has "been working hard for several years" to transform the 1930s building.

In addition to £1.8m previously secured from various channels, £700,000 from the government's Community Ownership Fund was confirmed on 22 December, allowing contracts to be signed and builders to be arranged.

David Pagett-Wright, Chair of the Generator CIC, said: "Alongside this amazing breakthrough, we've been working incredibly hard behind the scenes for reasons we can now reveal.

"When we went to tender in July 2023, we discovered that recent, exceptional inflation in building costs had made our established plans no longer feasible. We hit quite a wall.

"We had to re-work our plans, creating a two-stage approach, and then go back to our main funders to get their agreement. Thankfully, all are on board with this approach."