I am delighted that, as part of the first round of grants under the government's Culture Recovery Fund, Whitwell & Reepham Railway is to receive a grant of £49,000.
As you may know, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport made £1.57bn of support available through its Culture Recovery Fund, to support heritage and the wider cultural sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England have worked together to ensure this significant investment from the government reaches the organisations most in need.
445 heritage organisations across England will benefit from total grants of £103 million, delivering a lifeline for the heritage sector, with further support to follow and larger grants for capital projects to be awarded through the Heritage Stimulus Fund.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:
As a nation it is essential that we preserve our heritage and celebrate and learn from our past. This massive support package will protect our shared heritage for future generations, save jobs, and help us prepare for a cultural bounceback post-Covid.
Whitwell & Reepham Railway is Norfolk's newest heritage railway, and opened in 2009 - nearly fifty years after it was closed to passengers. The Society aims to continue restoring Whitwell Station to its former glory, re-laying track and sidings, acquiring rolling stock, and adding more items to their museum.
