The Cultural Recovery Fund will help support and sustain the sector due to the ongoing challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fund is intended to provide essential support to organisations in the sector, including music venues, heritage sites, museums, archives, libraries, events and their technical support suppliers, and independent cinemas who have all seen a dramatic loss of revenue due to the pandemic.
The award of £150,000 is the maximum grant that could be awarded from this fund and is a tremendous boost to the Railway during these difficult times. The bulk of the money will go towards funding our winter maintenance programme including additional support to complete the work on No 1, Talyllyn, the Railway’s original locomotive currently undergoing an overhaul. Money has been also granted for a variety of other projects which will help us develop the Railway for the future. These include:
- Providing Electric vehicle charging points
- Provision of heating in more carriages
- Refurbishment of the Abergynolwyn playground
- Developing a comprehensive interpretation strategy for the Railway and other heritage projects
- Enhanced facilities for video conferencing
The grant will enable the railway to prepare for the 2021 season, when it is hoped that life will begin to return to ‘normal’ and that we will be able to welcome even more passengers to our wonderful Railway.
In addition to this grant, the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Trust, located in the railway’s HQ buildings at Wharf Station, has also been awarded a grant of some £27,000 towards various items to make the Museum more Covid secure, and help with employment as well as other costs.
Ian Drummond, fundraising officer for the Talyllyn Railway expressed thanks to everyone who helped with the applications for these grants, their efforts being much appreciated.
For further information about this press release please contact [email protected] or call 01654 710472.
