The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has announced that they have been awarded a massive £1.94 million as part of the Culture Recovery Fund to help keep the railway steaming along, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is just one of eight organisations in the UK receiving grants today as part of the second round of grants between £1 million and £3 million.
The previous round of grants, which the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, South Devon Railway and Beamish Museum amongst others received, were for grants of up to £1 million.
Further announcements on more funding will be announced in the coming weeks.
Chris Price, General Manager at NYMR comments: “Let's face it, 2020 has been a whirlwind of a year, and there has been so much uncertainty. Here at NYMR we've launched a number of crisis appeals and had to call on the generosity of members of the public to help us pull through and it's been bloody tough, but we've made it this far.
“But I can't tell you the sigh of relief we've breathed today after receiving the news from Arts Council England that we've been awarded such a significant grant, which we believe is the largest awarded to a heritage railway in the UK. It will enable us to continue to offer a safe, revised service and build back to our 300,000 annual visitors as well as secure jobs and our heritage skills.
“It's a real testament to the work that we do to have recognition of the importance of NYMR to the region, both economically and culturally. It also means our Yorkshire's Magnificent Journey (YMJ) project can carry on, enabling us to continue with building our conservation and heritage apprenticeship programmes, our lineside ecological conservation work, offer fuss free access for disabled visitors, grow our learning offer at Pickering and Goathland, and of course reach out to individuals, groups and communities to share our passion for the history of the region through steam travel.
“Thank you to Arts Council England and the Culture Recovery Fund.”
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden said “These grants will help the places that have shaped our skylines for hundreds of years and that continue to define culture in our towns and cities.
“From St Paul's and Ronnie Scott's to The Lowry and Durham Cathedral, we're protecting heritage and culture in every corner of the country to save jobs and ensure it can bounce back strongly.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England said “Culture makes a huge and increasing contribution to our national life, bringing communities together, fuelling our creative industries, and representing our country on the world stage. These grants add to those announced last month, and will put these organisations in a better position to bounce back and help their communities recover from this crisis. The Arts Council is grateful to the government for the special support being made available to the arts and culture through the Culture Recovery Fund and we're proud to support all the organisations receiving awards today.”
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Let’s Hope this’ll help the NYMR to fully Recover from what turned out to be an infamously challenging year 2020 turned out to be… and to also continue on it’s ”Yorkshire;s Magnificent Journey” Appeal, through & through.
Wow… Although yet to be out of the woods, it’s Great to see the North Yorkshire Moors Railway be Thankfully Rewarded such an Astonishing Grant… Thanks to that so-called ”Cultural Recovery Fund”.
Well Done to the NYMR by the way.