High Peak has received £887,914 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, which has reached the milestone of distributing £1 billion for arts and heritage organisations across the UK. Local MP Robert Largan has welcomed this funding boost for High Peak’s heritage.
The Culture Recovery Fund is a £1.57 billion package designed to protect Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions which have faced significant challenges throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture has so far provided a lifeline to more than 3,000 large and small organisations across England, with more than 70 per cent of awards going outside of London as part of the Government’s commitment to levelling up.
The investment is known to have directly protected over 75,000 jobs, with many more freelancers and workers in supply chains benefiting. This includes High Peak institutions like the Buxton Arts Festival, Buxton Opera House, the Serpentine Community Garden Society, and Torr Vale Mills.
The Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, has recently announced £165 million in repayable finance to support some of the nation’s most iconic culture and heritage institutions, such as the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Shakespeare Company and the Historic Royal Palaces, bringing the total amount allocated through the fund to date to over £1 billion.
A further round of £400 million has been announced for cultural organisations in England which will help organisations look to the future. Funding, which was held back in previous rounds to allow the Government to respond to the changing public health picture, will be available for organisations who are at imminent risk of collapse before the end of this Financial Year.
Robert Largan MP commented:
“Organisations like Buxton Opera House are at the beating heart of High Peak’s cultural life, and I am delighted they have been able to benefit from the Government’s support.
“The funding has undoubtedly protected jobs and given our local cultural organisations the best chance of coming back strongly after the pandemic. I will continue to stand squarely behind High Peak’s cultural institutions.”
