Thumbs up for lottery grants

1:59pm Saturday 21st June 2008

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NEWS of two funding boosts for arts projects in Kendal has been welcomed.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has agreed to provide a grant of £130,000 to South Lakeland District Council for the Greenside Limekiln project, while £50,000 will be given to The Brewery Arts Centre for The Motto Project entitled Cloth Is My Bread, which aims to teach schools and community groups more about what the town's motto means.

The announcements have been hailed by Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron, who had previously expressed concern over the diversion of much-needed cultural grants to help fund the 2012 Olympics in London.

He said: "I think it is very important for us to celebrate our shared history, and these two projects will hopefully go a long way towards achieving this.

"The wool and cloth trade, for instance, was the bedrock of the British economy for many years. Kendal's growth and prosperity was based in no small part on this trade.

"Fantastic local projects such as these would struggle to succeed without help from cultural grants, and while the Olympics are of significant benefit, our cultural heritage is just as important.

"Cumbria and its heritage should not lose out and I hope that the Heritage Lottery Fund will continue to support our area in this manner."