Culture Recovery Fund Award

Trowbridge Town Hall is among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund

This award will enable the organisation to reawaken the Town Hall with live music and work with communities across the town.

Trowbridge Town Hall has received a grant of £38,635 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and reopen. 

More than £300 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country including Trowbridge Town Hall in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary announced today.

Trowbridge Town Hall Trust runs the historic building at the heart of the town. This award ensures culture remains central to the activities of the organisation, kicking off with a series of gigs in May, visual art exhibitions, independent cinema and community engagement projects across the town.

Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

The second round of awards made today will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead. 

Trowbridge Town Hall’s Director, David Lockwood, said:

“I’m delighted that once again we’ve been able to bring central government money into Trowbridge. This award is testament to the local and national significance of the Town Hall to our cultural life and gives us the greatest opportunity of realising the enormous potential of the building.

Moreover, this funding will enable us to give people in the town events to enjoy. Over the last year, we’ve given a lot of thought to the things we need to live. Now, hopefully, it’s time for us to return to the things that make life worth living”

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:

“Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.

Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said:

“Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work. 

We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”

The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.