Member Article

Blackpool Museum project progresses - set to bring jobs to resort

Blackpool Council has received £1.24 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop its Blackpool Museum project.

Together with funding from Blackpool Council and volunteer support this has created a £1.6 million pot for the development stage of the project.

The Blackpool Museum, planned for the Winter Gardens building, will tell the story of the world’s first working-class seaside resort, celebrating its contribution to British and Western popular culture.

As well as displaying the council’s own collections, there will be space for temporary exhibitions, co-created with communities, the Victoria & Albert Museum and others.

It will be based in the Grade 2 listed Winter Gardens, saving the Pavilion Theatre from dereliction and finding a use for other underutilised spaces.

Cllr Simon Blackburn, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has chosen to support this exciting project.

“We know that they had many applications to consider and I am over the moon that they saw the potential in our proposal.

“It is less than 12 months ago that I assembled a group of council officers and said that I felt there should be a museum of some kind in Blackpool that would showcase the rich history the town has.

“To have come so far, so quickly, is a tribute to their dedication, hard work and commitment and our tenacity.

“It has taken some time for us to pull this particular project together as we did not want to just create a collection of Blackpool’s history. We want to do something completely unique that you would only experience here.

“After much careful consideration Winter Gardens was decided as the most suitable location.

“This funding will enable us to carry out really detailed surveys of the Pavilion Theatre to ensure we know exactly how the attraction would be designed and built.”

Sara Hilton, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund North West, said: “We’re delighted to be giving our initial support for this project that marks the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication from a variety of partners, most importantly from the Council, whose recognition of the importance of Blackpool’s heritage and collections and how these can play a central role in the town’s wider regeneration, have helped create these truly visionary plans.

“Getting volunteers involved has been another vital piece of the puzzle and something that has gone a long way to securing Blackpool’s heritage offer and ensuring the important involvement of local people from the start.

“It’s really exciting that these plans to create Blackpool’s first museum can truly get underway now and, once completed, will mean the best of Blackpool is properly presented to local people and the millions of tourists that visit every year.”

Cllr Simon Blackburn continued: “Blackpool’s heritage is about people and their stories. Introduce Blackpool into the conversation virtually anywhere in the UK and the stories flow – always intensely personal, often funny, slightly quirky and strangely bizarre. It is this delightful, rich, community memory which brings our heritage so vividly alive”.

During 18 month development stage 10 jobs will be created to carry out three main objectives:

Building a solid foundation – consisting of the development of the business case and strategic plan for the museum. Creating the museum – preparing for capital works by carrying out in depth surveys, public engagement and consultation, collecting stories and developing concepts Raising the projects profile – talking to partners and the local community to develop communication plans.

Following the development stage Blackpool Council will apply for £20 million for the implementation of the museum.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .