One of Torbay’s most valuable heritage sites, Kent’s Cavern, has today (Friday 9th October 2020) been given a crucial lifeline thanks to a major Government scheme which will see more than £67m shared out among 433 successful applicants across England.
 
The package of support is the first round of funding from the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund. Today has also seen a dozen organisations, including English Heritage, the National Trust and the Canal and River Trust share £34 million from the Heritage Stimulus Fund to preserve visitor attractions.
 
Kent’s Cavern has been awarded £219,800 after successfully applying to the Cultural Recovery Fund for Heritage, set up to help the country’s cultural gems survive the coronavirus pandemic. The TDA will also receive £73,600 to support Torbay Culture from the funding round announced today.
 
The CRF is funded by the Government and delivered by heritage experts - the Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund - to support organisations in England across the heritage ecosystem which are local and national treasures, but have fallen on hard times due to the pandemic.
 
A raft of famous sites across the country have been awarded funding including historical areas, buildings, monuments, collections, museums, archives and places of worship. The funding is intended to help with key repair and maintenance work, and help sites operate and recover from the impact of the Coronavirus.
 
Commenting Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster said: “Kent’s Cavern is not just a much-loved visitor attraction for thousands of tourists each year, but a vital source of human history which was a home for the earliest residents of our bay. This funding will help keep it open and preserve it for years to come as a place not only of entertainment but learning as well.”
 
ENDS

For more information please contact Kevin Foster on 01803 214 989