Great news! National Lottery funding celebrating Newcastle-under-Lyme’s heritage has reached the £5 million mark!
Over the past few years the Heritage Lottery Fund has supported our New Vic Youth Theatre produce video monologues telling the stories of Burslem’s Wedgwood Institute, and work with the Philip Astley Project to celebrate the life of home-grown circus hero, Philip Astley.
The milestone was reached with a grant of £97,600 to repair and restore the town’s historic barracks . The Barracks Trust will be celebrating their building’s history in 2019 with activities to collect and share local people’s memories of the venue.
Commenting on the news, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands Vanessa Harbar said: “It is inspiring to see the difference that National Lottery players and local voluntary groups have made to Newcastle’s heritage. Heritage can bring communities together and transform a place so we are looking forward to seeing groups apply for grants to put on exciting new projects in 2019.”
Paul Farrelly, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, said: “I really appreciate all the National Lottery’s efforts in backing worthwhile projects in Newcastle as a matter of priority. We are the biggest town in Staffordshire, next door to its biggest city, but with a distinct history and identity from Stoke-on-Trent. National Lottery players’ contributions are making sure that our centuries-old heritage is not only being preserved, but has been given a whole new lease of life for the benefit of the whole community.”
Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Cllr. Simon Tagg, said: “This National Lottery funding milestone is truly remarkable. We are helping to preserve some of our borough’s history for generations to come.In Newcastle we have seen significant projects come to fruition, including the refurbishment of The Barracks, which the Council also invested funding in, and the recent opening of the Belong Village project that protects the history of one of the oldest pubs in Newcastle, the site of a former pottery and parts of the former Maxim’s nightclub. To demonstrate that we are committed to supporting protection of the borough’s heritage we have included it in our new Council Plan.”
Tony Green, Chair of the Barracks Trust said: “We are really pleased that we have been awarded funding by the National Lottery to do essential work on the windows in the Barracks. The building is important for the town and we are committed to preserving it for future generations. We are looking forward to working with the local community and finding out about their memories of the Barracks too.”