OPPORTUNITY BECKONS FOR HERITAGE GROUPS AS COUNCIL NETS BUMPER LOTTERY GRANT

Flashback to February when Ms Lia Nici had what has proved to be a fruitful meeting with Helen Whateley who, at the time, was the culture minister

PLAUDITS to North East Lincolnshire Council and Grimsby MP Lia Nici for securing a £250,000 grant to help fund heritage projects in the borough.

The monies will soon be on their way following a successful bid to The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

It has been awarded  on the basis firstly that the area has not done well out of  previous funding and secondly because Grimsby has been identified as "Area of Focus" - a polite way of describing it as deprived.

Says a NELC spokesperson: "The grant will be used over the next three years to assist community groups with an interest in heritage  to help them develop their heritage capacity, expertise and experience."

She continues: "There are various elements of local history that could be explored including:

* Highlighting  Grimsby’s maritime history and its relationship with the sea from ancient times to the recent development of the offshore wind industry

* Celebrating the area’s musical heritage, such as Rod Temperton and Bernie Taupin

* Continuing to tell the story of Immingham’s Pilgrim Fathers

* Encouraging the creative short-term use of heritage buildings

* Exploring how Grimsby’s international trading networks have shaped the world

* Sharing memories of good times at venues such as Cleethorpes Pier which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2023

* Exploring our relationship with the natural environment in the Wolds and on the coast.

Says Cllr Callum Procter, NELC's cabinet member for heritage: "We have a really rich history in North East Lincolnshire, and I am looking forward to seeing how we can make the most of it, involving local people along the way, and helping them to take pride in their own history and heritage."

                                      

Cllr Callum Procter - delighted with heritage grant announcement

Meanwhile, words of encouragement have been sounded by David Renwick, of the  National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Says he: "North East Lincolnshire is home to an incredibly varied and fascinating heritage, but in recent years the area has not received the funding to showcase these stories more widely. 

"Here at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we’re committing to ensuring those areas, like North East Lincolnshire, which are home to such rich heritage but have not benefitted from high levels of investment, are given the opportunity to use their stories to bring communities together, to play a significant role in boosting the local economy and to instil a real sense of pride of place for people. 

"By funding this project, we hope to play our part in unlocking North East Lincolnshire's enormous wealth of heritage."

Further details of how community organisations can get involved will be announced early next year.

The Grimsby News says: This announcement is simultaneously welcome and sad. Grimsby, once the world's proudest port town, is now dependent on pity and handouts from Whitehall. Why? Because we are perceived as a down-at-heel area lacking the drive and wherewithal even to celebrate our own glorious heritage. In effect, we have been patronised almost to the point of being insulted - and it is probably our own fault. Still, the money will be most welcome. We can only trust it will be spent imaginatively and not frittered away on administration and talkshops.