Latest news with #LouiseBrennan
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
East of England heritage buildings awarded £2m in grants
Six heritage buildings in the East of England are to receive almost £2m in grants for include St George's Guildhall in King's Lynn, Norfolk, Laurel Court in Peterborough and Lowestoft Town Hall, fund was intended to prioritise sites that served disadvantaged communities and demonstrated strong local Brennan from Historic England said it would help to "breathe new life" into neglected buildings. A total of £15m will be shared across 37 sites in England through the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, led by Historic England and paid for by the Department for Culture, Media and Brennan said Historic England was "thrilled" to support the projects and make a "real difference where it's needed most"."We are able to breathe new life into neglected historic buildings that we haven't been able to help through our existing grant schemes," she Minister Baroness Twycross added the grants would help ensure future generations had access to "our rich heritage". Lowestoft Town Hall The Grade II listed town hall in Lowestoft dates from 1859 to building has been unoccupied since 2015, when Waveney District Council operations moved to new offices at Riverside, and it has been owned by Lowestoft Town Council since it formed in will receive £707,000 from the fund to help repair the roof, masonry and plaster work.A £12m scheme was under way to bring the building back into use as a community facility, including a heritage centre, art gallery, cafe, events venue and co-working spaces. St George's Guildhall and Creative Hub, King's Lynn The Guild of St George in King's Lynn, Norfolk closed earlier this year due to structural failures that made public access unsafe. It was established prior to 1376 and work began on St George's Guildhall in the 1390s. The current building was completed by 1401, with the first Royal Charter in 1406. It was said to be one of the largest complete surviving medieval building is operated by the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk under lease from the National Trust. The building was awarded £721,330 for roof repairs and infrastructure upgrades, addressing severe damp issues and reinserting missing leader of Kings Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council Simon Ring said: "It is most welcome and a major boost to our internationally significant conservation project." The Iron Duke Public House, Great Yarmouth The Grade II listed Iron Duke Public House in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk was built in art deco style in the late 1930s and was completed in 1948. The pub had stood empty since 2004 but was bought in 2020 by the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust to bring the building back into public repairs have taken place to make the building watertight but £136,500 has been awarded to help repair the building's original historic fabric. It had already been granted £2.4m in lottery funding to help turn around its fortunes. Laurel Court, Peterborough The Grade I listed Laurel Court next to Peterborough Cathedral has been awarded £136, comes as emergency repairs are needed to investigate severe structural deterioration that has left the building empty since April 2024. The grant repairs would prevent further decay but comprehensive work was needed to complete the full repair of the building and its sustainable adaptation to a new use. Chapelfield Gardens Bandstand, Norwich The Bandstand is at Chapelfield Gardens, one of Norwich's most visited parks.A £315,249 grant will enable the comprehensive restoration of the 126-year-old Victorian timber structure for community music events and complements a programme of proposed longer-term wider improvements to Norwich's historic parks, supported by funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Greenland Fishery House, King's Lynn The Grade II site was built from 1605 to 1608 and was awarded £99,442 to protect it from further weather has urgent structural issues including damp, woodworm damage, unstable roof chimneys and severe draughts that made the building unusable in to the project is restoring the main hall to its original design by removing a 1950s partition wall, revealing 17th Century wall paintings. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Listed London buildings get £1.3m for urgent repairs
Two heritage-listed buildings in London are set to be saved from ruin after a £1.3m grant was awarded to fund "urgent repairs", Historic England has Grade II listed St Mary's Church in Somers Town in north-west London will receive £639,000 to save it from the threat of demolition due to its current poor Greenhouse Centre in central London, a Grade II listed converted church, will be granted £663,100 to make essential upgrades. Louise Brennan, director of regions at Historic England, said the funding would "breathe new life into neglected historic buildings that we haven't been able to help through our existing grant schemes". "St Mary's has been at the heart of Somers Town for 200 years, providing a place of worship and developing deep connections with people locally to offer much-needed community space and a place of sanctuary for those in need," the spokesperson grant will allow the most immediate work needed to the west front of the Gothic-style building to be undertaken. This will cover repairs to failing masonry, brickwork and joinery as well as repointing, cleaning and improved England said it will ensure the church's administrators can seek further funding to restore the rest of the building. The Greenhouse Centre, located in a 200-year-old building on Cosway Street, will use the funding to cover the final phase of work to reopen. Essential upgrades include structurally reinforcing the main floor and installing new fire protection centre belongs to Greenhouse Sports, a charity delivering sports coaching and mentoring to young people facing Minister Baroness Twycross said: "Our extraordinary heritage weaves together the stories that define who we are as communities and as a nation." The grants are part of the wider £15m Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, which is being shared across 37 sites in England at risk of "dereliction or demolition", a Historic England spokesperson one-year initiative, funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), prioritises heritage sites serving disadvantaged communities and which demonstrate strong local benefits, from job creation to cultural events.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
West Midlands heritage buildings get repairs funding
A former pub and indoor market are among the "neglected historic buildings" in the West Midlands that have received funding for Grade II-listed Burslem Indoor Market in Stoke-on-Trent has received £1m for renovations from Historic England, while the Golden Lion in Birmingham's Cannon Hill Park, also Grade II-listed, has been awarded £344, Manor House, one of only three Grade I-listed buildings in Sandwell, will get £200,000 and the Grade II-listed Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Stoke-on-Trent was awarded £521, were among 37 historical buildings and sites across England to receive a share of £15m from the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund. Historic England said the sites were "at the heart of local communities", with many providing spaces for education, arts and local funding scheme, run by the organisation in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, aims to prevent the "irreversible loss of England's built heritage". Louise Brennan, of Historic England, said: "Thanks to the extra funding from the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, we are able to breathe new life into neglected historic buildings that we haven't been able to help through our existing grant schemes."She said the initiative would boost economic growth and also "create amazing opportunities" for people in some of England's most disadvantaged areas."We're thrilled to support projects that harness the power of heritage to make a real difference where it's needed most," she added. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Futurist: Site of former Birmingham cinema gets listed status
The site of a "pioneering" former cinema has been granted listed status. The Futurist, on John Bright Street in Birmingham, survived two world wars and was the first in the city to show "talkies", according to Historic England, these were films with recorded dialogue played in sync with pictures, as opposed to the silent films played without chiefs said the building, which is now a Caribbean restaurant, gave an early example of cinema architecture with brick, stone and terracotta dressings. "Given its age, The Futurist still looks fantastic," said Historic England's Midlands director Louise Brennan. "It has an imposing presence befitting of its pioneering role. "It survived attack from the Luftwaffe [in World War Two] and the redevelopment of Birmingham." The Futurist was designed in 1914 and eventually opened five years later as construction was delayed by World War One. It was then damaged in an air raid in the Birmingham Blitz of November 1940, before reopening again three years later. Later, the building was known as the Cannon Cinema, before it eventually closed in September 1991. In subsequent years, the building has been converted into an adult club and then a bar and restaurant. Listed buildings are those of special architectural or historical interest. The Futurist has been granted Grade II status by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society which campaigns to save outstanding buildings, said it had been a "real survivor". "Since closing as a cinema it's been an adult nightclub, shisha lounge, and a seafood restaurant," she said. "But no matter the times, the value and versatility of 20th Century heritage endures. "It's wonderful to see this handsome old gent of a building now recognised with national listing." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
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The Independent
20-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
How a heritage revival helped spark renewal on Britain's High Streets
UK High Streets are being brought into the future by harking back to the past, after hundreds of storefronts have been renovated with more traditional looks. A Historic England -led programme has transformed 67 British High Streets over four years, to restore and repair over 1,000 buildings and storefronts. The programme has been hailed as a great success by shopkeepers, who say the programme has 'restored pride' in local high streets, increased footfall and halted their declines. One of the high streets included in the project was in the market town of Tyldesley, Greater Manchester. Before the intervention, its high street faced declining footfall with its historic buildings being at risk of being lost altogether. But now, the community has been given a 'renewed sense of pride' it its high street which has gone back to its roots. Matthew Sofield, 53, owns Pen to Paper, a card shop on the high street opened by his parents 40 years ago. After submitting his interest in the programme, his 'outdated' storefront was transformed to a look more similar to its original state when it was built 100 years ago. During renovations, his shop was fitted with a traditional timber shopfront with hand-painted signage, awning and glazed brick slips. 'We decided to go back to a more traditional look which we're very pleased with,' he told The Independent. 'We're an old town the buildings have gone back to what they were originally like over 100 years ago.' He added: 'All high street shops are finding it difficult, and this has definitely stopped further decline. We've had amazing feedback from local people who say how much of an impact its had on them and the high street. 'Rather than looking like a declining high street it looks like we're on the up, which has definitely helped.' The High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme was launched in 2020 in partnership with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to demonstrate how heritage-led solutions can help reimagine high streets as a centre of vibrant communities. An independent evaluation of the project found that it had stimulated growth by creating over 700 jobs, attracting investment, and generating a renewed sense of local pride. The programme repaired 723 historic buildings, restored 462 shopfronts and brought many vacant buildings back into use. It consulted with local communities to decide which buildings would best benefit from renovation, and shopkeepers interested in the programme were able to put themselves forward. 'Shop owners have been saying they've got more footfall and more people stopping and looking in because it looks more inviting,' the programme's director, Louise Brennan, told The Independent. In Lincoln, three units that were due to be demolished are now home to three independent business after they were renovated. Ms Brennan added: 'I think there's something about character and quality in traditional designs that people are drawn to. 'When you look at how they've been restored with high detail and design, they look more interesting and individual than general plastic vinyl signs. It makes you want to have a look and go inside a shop. 'Then of course in local communities there are local people who have memories of these places and it brings a sense of belonging when something is more unique.'
