Three well-known Fylde institutions have received a total of £58,500 through Fylde Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) Exceptions 2022 Scheme to help fund vital restoration and development, the Council are pleased to announce.
The Lowther Gardens Trust, the Ansdell Institute, and the St Annes Enterprise Partnership each successfully applied for funding through the Government-backed programme to help those businesses and organisations adversely affected by COVID-19 but which were not eligible for assistance through other support schemes. The monies received are to be invested in better facilities and infrastructure and will in turn help them provide greater value to the community.
Cllr Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council, said: “It has been our great pleasure and privilege to be able to support our local businesses and organisations through the trying times of the past two years. Many of our local establishments would not have been able to survive without assistance, and we have worked hard to ensure crucial financial support was delivered where it was most needed. As we move towards a brighter future, these investments will help strengthen our economy and secure our heritage, and we are excited to watch our Borough thrive once again.”
Tim Lince, CEO of the Lowther Pavilion, said “It’s a real boost that we are able to move ahead with these projects now as we encourage more of the community to get involved in the theatre and park. Lowther has successfully negotiated the perils of the pandemic with outdoor theatre, Cinema, Silver Screening to care homes and the vulnerable but it is wonderful to be back inside with our eclectic mix of culture and community use.”
Cllr David O’Rourke of Kilnhouse Ward, the Fylde Borough Council representative on the STEP Board, said: “I was delighted to be able to assist with the successful application to secure the funding enabling the group to acquire 12 bespoke trader’s cabins for use at future events. This will considerably reduce future costs, removing the need to hire cabins, and ensuring STEP can organise a bigger, better Christmas market this year. We plan to grow this event into a major annual St Annes attraction following the launch in December 2021. The cabins will be used for other events and will also be available to other Fylde business and community groups, free of hire charge, to use at their events, although there will be some cost involved in transport and set up of the cabins. We will be announcing arrangements for the booking system soon.”
Cllr Ben Aitken of Ansdell Ward, Chair of the Friends of Ansdell Institute, said: “This award represents an excellent starting point for our long-held aim of restoring the Institute to its full glory. The Friends of Ansdell Institute are excited to take another step towards our goal of sustainability, and we hope the building and its facilities will continue to be enjoyed by the community for at least another hundred years.”
The allocation of these grants was made possible through funding from central Government as part of the wider COVID-19 business grants schemes. The payment deadline date for all such grants was 31 March 2022, and since the start of the programme Fylde Council have paid £37m in total to local businesses, organisations, and charitable groups, with the ARG Exceptions Scheme representing just once tranche of the money the Council was able to award to the community.
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