£478,000 secured for Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery
I’m delighted to share that I’ve secured £478,000 in funding for Grundy Art Gallery through two pots of government funding.
£357k is coming from the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND), topped up by an additional £121k from the £1.5m Pride in Place Impact Fund for immediate improvements to our town.
This is a really important investment for Blackpool. The Grundy has been at the heart of our town’s cultural life since 1911 and this funding will help protect its building and collections while improving accessibility, resilience and the overall visitor experience.
The MEND funding forms part of a wider national package supporting 28 museums across England, helping them carry out essential infrastructure works and address maintenance backlogs so they can continue serving their communities for years to come.
More broadly, this sits within the Government’s Arts Everywhere Fund – a £1.5 billion commitment to cultural infrastructure. The first £127.8 million has now been allocated to support 130 cultural venues, museums and libraries across the country, including:
£25.5 million through the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) supporting 28 local museums
£96 million through the Creative Foundations Fund supporting 74 arts and cultural venues
£6.3 million through the Libraries Improvement Fund supporting 28 library services
Together, these investments mark the first major milestone in a programme that will support more than 1,000 cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage sites across England over this Parliament.
Last year I met with the Grundy’s team to discuss the funding needed to secure its future. I was proud to take that case directly to government and it’s fantastic to see that work deliver real results for our town.
With the Grundy team last year
I’ll keep pushing for the Grundy to be able to realise its ambitions for the future in full – they are an important piece of the puzzle in the regeneration of the town centre and in developing Blackpool’s cultural landscape.
And I’ll keep working to make sure Blackpool benefits from further from the Arts Everywhere Fund. By investing in our cultural institutions, we are investing in our community, our town and our future.
Further rounds of funding are expected to open in the coming months and I’m keen to ensure Blackpool is first in line to benefit.
