Five motoring organisations and charities have been awarded government grants to help them to reopen and recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Funding came from the second round of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Culture Recovery Fund, which offered £400 million to 2,700 arts, culture and heritage organisations.
The Silverstone Experience Museum only officially opened on 6 March 2020, before being forced to close just 12 days later. It was awarded £785,700 from the fund.
Sally Reynolds, chief executive of the museum, told Motoring Research it suffered from “three long periods of closure” as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. These resulted in “a very limited time to welcome customers and build our cash reserves”.
Reynolds added: “We are extremely grateful to the Culture Recovery Fund for recognising the difficulties this has caused and for awarding a grant. We are now focused on getting ready to open our doors to visitors from 17 May and are very much looking forward to a busy and successful summer.”
MotoFest Coventry, which organises motoring-themed events in the city, was awarded £20,000, and James Noble, MotoFest Coventry festival director, told Motoring Research the money will enable the team to “start planning for a Covid-secure event in 2021.”
He added: “We are delighted that the government has recognised the important work that MotoFest Coventry does in protecting and showcasing our mobile heritage. MotoFest Coventry is unique in demonstrating the significant role that automotive heritage plays in providing a context for future transport innovation and we look forward to showcasing that ethos when MotoFest returns in July and August with its new month long programme of events.”
The Heritage Skills Academy, meanwhile, has been given £19,000 by the government.
Owain Johns, development director at Heritage Skills Academy, said that without the grant and support “it would have made things very difficult for us”. The money will enable the organisation to continue to train apprentice engineers.
While the apprentices have continued to learn remotely during the pandemic, Johns said the amount of hands-on experience has been reduced.
“Ultimately, we can catch up the lost learning and maximise the chances of apprentices passing their courses and thriving in the industry and having a career that will make a difference because of the grant. Without the grant, the chances of them falling by the wayside or being disillusioned could have had a really detrimental impact.
“The recognition there are a number of small and niche providers who are part and parcel of a much bigger picture is really powerful. If we – and others – hadn’t had support the future of heritage would look bleak, but it looks a lot brighter as a result.”
Full steam ahead
Alex Masters, chairman of the Robey Trust, a charity that preserves, restores, operates and displays steam vehicles, told Motoring Research that his organisation has cancelled its steam fair for two years in row.
“This is our major source of income and we’re not looking at any steam rallies until September, so we’re getting into 18 months of restricted income,” he noted. The charity has been awarded £9,700 and the money will be used to complete a general overhaul of a steam roller that was bought for the town of Tavistock, Devon (where the charity is based) in 1925 and remains there to this day.
Masters told us that despite the charity “effectively still being in the 2019 winter maintenance period” the lockdowns have enabled trustees to complete important work. “We’re trying to make sure that when we go back to normal, we’re going to go back in better. Instead of seeing this as an impediment, we’re seeing it as a great opportunity to do all the tasks that have been outstanding because in normal times we’re too busy attending rallies or organising steam fairs.”
Dominic Taylor-Lane, founder and managing director of the Association of Heritage Engineers, also welcomed a focus on smaller charities: “It’s nice for the DCMS to turn around and go ‘Look, we haven’t heard of these guys before, they’ve put a reasonable case together and we think they are part of the heritage ecosystem’. It’s one of those things where they are starting to look outside of the box because we have got to present a united plan.”
His company has been awarded £4,400 by the government and he said the money will be used to enhance the firm’s appearance at events: “This particular funding was effectively to get heritage moving again post-Covid. It will enable us to put on an even more professional appearance at shows and to help get the message out there.”
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