£2m Coastal Communities boost for Plymouth History Centre

The impact of the Plymouth History Centre on the city’s culture, heritage and visitor offer has been recognised by the Coastal Communities Fund today, with confirmation of an amazing £2million’ worth of funding towards the project.

The Coastal Communities Fund aims to encourage and promote sustainable economic growth and jobs in coastal towns and cities throughout the UK. It began in 2012 and has already committed more than £125 million to over 200 different organisations.

The funding will feed in to the ongoing development of the History Centre – a flagship new cultural and heritage centre for the city and the South West which is currently being created on the site of the former City Museum and Art Gallery, Central Library and St Luke’s Church buildings.

The History Centre, which is a partnership between Plymouth City Council, the University of Plymouth, the South West Film and Television Archive and the South West Image Bank, is scheduled to open in spring 2020 as part of the Mayflower 400 commemorations.

The project will bring the city’s most significant heritage assets on to one site and showcase permanent collections on a bigger and better platform than ever before. It will also create new visual arts spaces, academic and research facilities – all of which will be boosted by ambitious exhibition, event and education programmes.

Plymouth City Council leader Ian Bowyer said: “The good news about the History Centre just keeps on coming! We’ve had an incredible run of successful funding bids for this project and lots of key national organisations are really excited about what we are hoping to achieve here in Plymouth.”

“Plymouth is a city that is on the up, with exciting plans for people who live here as well as the increasing numbers of visitors who are coming here. This project celebrates our incredible past as we look to the future and we are delighted that the Coastal Communities Fund is continuing to show its support for all that we are trying to achieve here, in one of the UK’s most significant maritime cities.”

The History Centre is one of 33 applications to benefit from support in this new round of Coastal Communities funding which brought plenty of good news for the South West. 12 other projects in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset were also successful bringing the total level of support for the region to £15million.

Coastal Communities Minister Andrew Percy said: “We’re putting the wind in the sails of over dozen major projects along the South West coast line. From a new watersports centre in Ilfracombe to a new enterprise hub in St Ives, this funding will help make sure seaside towns in the South West flourish.”

To stay up to date with the progress of the History Centre project visit www.plymouth.gov.uk/loveourpast or find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. You can also read regular posts about different aspects of the project at www.plymouthartsandheritage.wordpress.com