News from our partners: Ludlow Assembly Rooms awarded a further £130,000 from Arts Council England
News from our partners Ludlow Assembly Rooms
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (LAR) has been awarded an additional £130,000 from Arts Council England, which will enable the venue to complete the new café’s kitchen and purchase a new state of the art digital projector, both vital to its future sustainability.
The award – which is a top up to the Arts Council England’s capital grant – is part of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, to support increased capital costs which are due to coronavirus or extended completion dates.
This funding will build on this Arts Council-funded project, along with funding from Shropshire Council, the European Regional Development Fund and LAR’s own fundraising initiative.
Ludlow Assembly Rooms
Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture, leisure, waste and communications, said:
“This funding will support this exciting work to transform the iconic Ludlow Assembly Rooms into a financially and environmentally sustainable home for Ludlow’s flagship rural arts and community centre. After two and a half years of closure and the misery of the pandemic, it will provide something really exciting for everyone in Ludlow to look forward to.”
Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow said:
“I am delighted Ludlow Assembly Rooms will receive an extra £130,000 through the Culture Recovery Fund, helping to safeguard the future of this important cultural asset for Ludlow and the surrounding area. While this essential renovation has been underway for a long time, extended by the impact of coronavirus, I want to commend the staff, volunteers, trustees and contractors who are working so hard to turn Ludlow Assembly Rooms into a sustainable venue for the future. I am sure this additional funding will make a big difference to getting the refurbishment completed.”
Gareth Williams, Chair of Ludlow Assembly Rooms, said:
“Throughout our long period of closure for building works and then coronavirus, we have stood by the community in Ludlow, and by our hardworking staff. This funding means we can look ahead with confidence to being able to reopen in the spring, even if we still have small amounts of money to raise to finish the task we have set ourselves.”
Helen Hughes, Voluntary CEO of Ludlow Assembly Rooms, said:
“These last few months have been extraordinarily difficult for both the Trustees who manage the charity, and for the staff who have been unstinting in their support. This funding will act as a springboard for the opening of this much-loved facility for the whole community of Ludlow.”
Contact: Helen Hughes, Volunteer CEO: 07813 651545.
