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Museums and libraries to receive funding boost

BBC Discovery Museum, NewcastleBBC
The Discovery Museum will receive the largest sum of money in this funding round

Museums and libraries in north-east England have been allocated millions of pounds through the Cultural Investment Fund.

The government has pledged £33m nationally, including over £3m for the Discovery Museum in Newcastle and £500,000 to repair the Heugh Gun Battery in Hartlepool.

Bosses at the Discovery Museum said they were "very grateful" for the offer of funding.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said these projects will help boost access, maximise income and increase visitor numbers.

In this third round of funding, nearly £400,000 has been awarded to Newcastle Libraries to create a new reading facility in a disused part of the Walker Activity Dome.

Newcastle City Council’s Christine Herriot said: "This extra funding will help make the library bigger by bringing unused storage space back into use, give it a new entrance and enable us to widen digital services."

Discovery Museum Great Hall, Discovery MuseumDiscovery Museum
The roof above the Great Hall in the Discovery Museum will be repaired

The Discovery Museum will receive the largest sum in this round of funding, with over £3m allocated for roof repairs.

Director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Keith Merrin said: "Dating back to 1899 the Victorian building now needs essential repairs to its roof.

“It will also ensure that the collections housed in the museum stay protected from potential water damage."

Heugh Battery Museum Aerial picture of the Heugh Battery Museum, HartlepoolHeugh Battery Museum
Heugh Battery Museum will use the money for repairs after flooding

The Heugh Battery Museum in Hartlepool will receive almost £500,000 for urgent works on the Scheduled Monument area of their site.

Manager Diane Stephens said: "We were put on the Heritage at Risk Register by Historic England because of problems we are having with water getting into our concrete structures, causing them to crack and break, and we have experienced flooding in some areas of our underground buildings."

She said the money will help stabilise concrete structures, repair drainage systems, improve ventilation and add extra safety and access features.

Recipients of the Museum Estate and Development Fund in north-east England include:

  • Discovery Museum, Newcastle: £3,079,042 for repair & refurbishment works
  • Jarrow Hall, Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum, South Tyneside: £513,890
  • Killhope Museum, Bishop Auckland: £498,280 for industrial heritage rescue
  • Heugh Battery Museum, Hartlepool: £497,534 for essential repairs to Heugh Gun Battery

Recipients of the Libraries Improvement Fund in north-east England include:

  • Newcastle Libraries: £382,159 for Walker LIF 3
  • Sunderland City Council: £230,000 for Libraries Uplifted

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