Article by Arts Council England
The Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND), administered by Arts Council England, has announced funding to 29 museums up and down the country to receive a share of almost £25 million to upgrade their buildings.
The fund is part of the Government’s long-term plan to support local economies, allowing them to grow. It will support capital projects at museums, fund important repairs, and improve the visitor experience with funding awarded from £50,000 to £5 million, to ensure local history has a home for years to come.
In the Midlands, more than £5 million has been awarded across four museums.
Tamworth Castle was originally built in the 1080s, and in its most recent form is a museum showcasing the building’s 900 years of history, including significant items from the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard. They have been awarded £1,716,238 to allow them to make urgent repairs throughout the historic building, ensuring that the structure remains safe to the public and that they are able to offer an even better visitor experience.
Peter Knott, Midlands Area Director at Arts Council England, said: “We want people across Tamworth and beyond to experience, enjoy, discover and learn from our fantastic regional museums and galleries. Through their history and collections, they can open our eyes to the wonders and challenges of the world and help us find our place in it.
“We’re pleased to be supporting Tamworth Castle to make vital building improvements to protect the castle and its collections for future generations.”
Councillor Lewis Smith, portfolio holder for people services, engagement and leisure for Tamworth Borough Council, said: “Tamworth Borough Council are delighted to be awarded £1,716,238 from the Museum Estate and Development Fund through The Arts Council.
“The grant will allow us to make urgent repairs throughout our historic building. This essential work will make sure our heritage attraction remains safe to the public, allowing our great monument to continue standing proud as a huge part of Tamworth’s rich history.”
Details of the recipients of the fourth round of MEND comes as part of a wider announcement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport which includes news of further funding to come to support the cultural sector.
For further information about the recipients of the fourth round of MEND please contact:
Freyja Barnard, Advocacy and Communications Officer, Midlands
Freyja.barnard@artscouncil.org.uk, 07872416666
Notes:
About MEND
The Museums Estates and Development fund is an open-access capital fund targeted at non-national Accredited museums and local authorities based in England to apply for funding to undertake vital infrastructure and urgent maintenance backlogs which are beyond the scope of day-to-day maintenance budgets.
About Arts Council
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Our vision, set out in our strategy Let’s Create, is that by 2030, we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. Between 2023 and 2026 we will have invested over £467 million of public money from Government, alongside an estimated £250 million each year from The National Lottery, to help ensure that people in every part of the country have access to culture and creativity in the places where they live. Until Autumn 2025, the National Lottery is celebrating its 30th anniversary of supporting good causes in the United Kingdom: since the first draw was held in 1994, it has raised £49 billion and awarded more than 690,000 individual grants.
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