Arts Council England and DCMS have today announced the recipients of the second Museum, Estate and Development Fund (MEND).

Totalling £21.4m, this round has been awarded to 36 non-national Accredited museums and local authorities based in England, and will support infrastructure and urgent maintenance backlogs which are beyond the scope of day-to-day maintenance budgets.

The largest single MEND recipient in this second round is Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum, which has received £2.28m.

The MEND fund is one of three strands of the Cultural Investment Fund (CIF), which also includes the Libraries Improvement Fund and the Cultural Development Fund, recipients of which were also announced today.

Among them is the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, which received £5m as part of the Cultural Development Fund.

In January, Stoke-on-Trent City Council published new details of its development plans for the museum, which include the phased redevelopment of its Spitfire Gallery, the co-location of the City’s Archive Service and plans for a wrap-around extension.

This second round of MEND funding brings the total amount of investment to more than £40 million for 67 museums. The first round saw support for places including Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes.

Among the recipients in this new round is The Bowes Museum, which will use its nearly £1m in funding to improve visitor access throughout the grade II listed parkland and increase the capacity of its car park.

Its Executive Director, Hannah Fox, said: “We are delighted to be awarded this funding, which will allow us to carry out a million pound project that will make a huge difference to everyone’s enjoyment of the Museum. It will vastly improve accessibility and the visitor experience in and around the building and grounds ensuring inclusivity and access for all.”

New Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “This funding will support brilliant arts organisations to upgrade their venues and create new projects that will be at the heart of their communities.”

Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England added: “Investment in creativity and culture is a catalyst for improving well-being and raising aspirations, reinvigorating pride in communities, regenerating high streets and local economies, and bringing people together.”

2023 Museum Estate and Development Fund recipients

East Midlands

  • £469,992 to Wollaton Hall in Nottingham
  • £518,000 to Papplewick Pumping Station in Gelding
  • £68,000 to The West Shed Museum in Ripley, Derbyshire

East of England

  • £228,850 to Hollytrees Museum in Colchester
  • £1,409,600 to The Food Museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk
  • £669,873 to Nene Valley Railway in Cambridgeshire
  • £381,920 to Norwich Castle Museum in Norwich
  • £1,071,616 to The Long Shop Museum in Leiston, East Suffolk

London

  • £811,250 to Valence House in Barking and Dagenham
  • £125,000 to Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham

North East

  • £311,194 to Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough
  • £540,000 to South Shields Museum & Art Gallery in South Shields, South Tyneside
  • £349,153 to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens in Sunderland
  • £974,673 to The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham
  • £150,410 to Woodhorn Museum in Ashington, Northumberland

North West

  • £143,841 to The Fusilier Museum in Bury
  • £673,826 to Queen’s Park Stores in Manchester
  • £104,865 to Salford Museum and Art Gallery in Salford

South East

  • £433,766 to Amberley Museum in Amberley, West Sussex
  • £69,000 to Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft in Ditchling, East Sussex
  • £2,230,125 to Southampton City Art Gallery in Southampton
  • £734,335 to Museum of Farnham in Farnham, Surrey
  • £175,000 to Whitstable Community Museum and Gallery in Whitstable

South West

  • £495,000 to Coldharbour Mill Museum in Uffculme, Mid Devon
  • £498,000 to The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter
  • £185,608 to The Museum of Cornish Life in Helston, Cornwall
  • £320,000 to Nothe Fort in Weymouth, Dorset
  • £728,985 to SS Great Britain in Bristol
  • £367,027 to Tewkesbury Museum in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
  • £1,494,284 to Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro, Cornwall

West Midlands

  • £240,000 to Compton Verney near Kineton, Warwickshire
  • £2,283,821 to Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum in Leamington Spa
  • £658,260 to Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton

Yorkshire & the Humber

  • £898,405 to Cannon Hall Museum in Barnsley
  • £497,474 to Harewood House, near Leeds
  • £166,250 to Shandy Hall in Coxwold, Yorkshire

2023 Cultural Development Fund recipients

East of England

  • £4,490,000 to Basildon Borough Council

East Midlands

  • £5,000,000 to East Lindsey District Council

South East

  • £3,500,000 to Institute Of Cultural & Creative Industries (Medway)

Yorkshire and the Humber

  • £4,998,500 to Kala Sangam (Bradford)

North West

  • £2,743,002 to Morecambe Winter Gardens

South West

  • £3,000,000 to North Devon Council

West Midlands

  • £5,000,000 to The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (Stoke-on-Trent)
  • £3,700,000 to Walsall Council
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