Members:    

• Julian Glover (Chair)
• Heather Broughton
• John Everitt
• Harr-Joht Kaur
• Izzy Mohammed
• Glyn Morgan
• Jo Smith
• Chris Starkie
• Helen Wilson (via Microsoft Teams)

Apologies:

• None

Committee Business

Welcomes and Introduction

Chair Julian Glover welcomed everyone to the second meeting of the Committee for England, Midlands & East this financial year. The chair welcomed guests and presenters and gave a brief outline of the meeting.

Minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2022 and matters arising

The minutes were approved and signed as a true record of the meeting.  There were no matters arising. 

Declarations of interest

The following conflicting interests were declared and as such members were not present in discussions for those applications or any subsequent voting and prioritisation:

Item 13: St George's Guildhall and Creative Hub

Chris Starkie, Chief Executive the New Anglia LEP, had a conflict of interest with NL-21-00013 St George's Guildhall and Creative Hub as the LEP had sent a letter of support for the application.

Item 18: Essential Networks: strengthening local resilience and diversity

Head of Investment, in her role as Chair for the Heritage Trust Network, declared a conflict of interest with NL-21-00196 Essential Networks: strengthening local resilience and diversity.

Item 10: Re-imagining Greyfriars: 800 years of stories in the making

Head of Investment, noted her connection with Heritage Trust Lincolnshire as a previous employer and as a result observed this item only.

The following was noted but not deemed a conflict of interest.

Item 19: Our Birmingham Stories 

Izzy Mohammed noted he had been a PhD student of Birmingham University but was not involved in the project.

There were no additional declarations of interest declared during the meeting.

Chair’s Report

Chair Julian Glover thanked the team and the committee for their attendance at recent visits and events. The committee recruitment was complete with three new members present today. The chair noted some of the recent visits he had attended.

Corporate Update

Commercial in confidence.

The committee noted the report.

Place approach update and next steps

Slides were presented on the Place Approach.

The committee noted the presentation.

Midlands & East Committee Overview

The report was presented with the following comments:

• Thanks were given to the committee for their attendance to events and also to the Midlands & East Team for their hard work since the last committee meeting.

SF4 Delivery round applications for discussion and decision

Reaching new and diverse audiences with stories of survival and safe refuge in the UK; HG-18-01285 

Grantee: Beth Shalom Limited

Request: £702,300 (17% of total costs)  

Project: The National Holocaust Centre and Museum (NHCM) at Laxton in Nottinghamshire, would engage wider audiences with the witness accounts of Holocaust Survivors, ensuring that new generations would hear these important stories.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East awarded a first round pass of £799,400 including a development grant of £97,100 (29% of eligible development costs) in 2018.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East AWARDED a grant of £702,300 (17% of total costs).

SFF Delivery Round applications for discussion and decision

The Sherbourne Valley Project; OL-18-06411 

Grantee: Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

Request: £1,815,600 (61% of total costs)  

Project: Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (WWT) would deliver a four-year comprehensive area-based scheme to revitalise the River Sherbourne in Coventry, bringing it back to life and into the lives of local people.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East awarded a first round pass of £1,815,600 (74% of total costs) including a development grant of £253,600 (75% of eligible development costs) in 2020.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East AWARDED a grant of £1,815,600 (61% of total costs).

Re-imagining Greyfriars: 800 years of stories in the making; OL-18-07381 

Grantee: City of Lincoln Council

Request: £1,951,900 (64% of total costs)  

Uplift: £1,001,900

Project: This partnership project between City of Lincoln Council (CoLC) and Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire (HTL) would rescue an important, at-risk building. The ambitious restoration of Greyfriars in Lincoln would, for the first time in over 15 years, see the Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) become fully accessible to the public.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East awarded a first round pass of £950,000(55%) including a development grant of £175,000 (65% of eligible development costs) in 2020.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East AWARDED a grant of £1,951,900 (64%) 

Prioritisation of Delivery round applications

All three delivery projects were awarded.

SFF Development round applications for discussion and decision

Growing our Green Heritage: Restoring Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens for Life; NL-21-00177 

Applicant: Birmingham Botanical & Horticultural Society Limited

Request: Development grant of £590,814 (67% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £4,409,186 (34% of total costs)  

Project: A masterplan vision was created by Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) to transform the 15 acre Grade II* (Registered Park and Garden) landscape and iconic glasshouses, located in the conservation area of Edgbaston, one mile from the city centre. The project would restore, repair and reorder the gardens to better serve the needs of the public and generate sufficient revenue to ensure its future survival.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East agreed the application represented a HIGH priority for support and AWARDED a first round pass of £4,409,186 (34% of total costs) including development grant of £590,814 (34% of eligible development costs).

St George's Guildhall and Creative Hub; NL-21-00013

Applicant: Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk

Request: Award development grant of £575,466 (50% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £2,801,444 (26% of total costs) 

Project: The project restored, repaired and adapted key listed buildings, within King's Lynn town centre, as theatre, work, entertainment and ancillary spaces. Focused upon the site's history, and connections with Shakespeare the intention was to establish a new sustainable, integrated business model. 

The Committee for England, Midlands & East REJECTED the application.

The Ice House; NL-21-00113 

Applicant: The Seachange Trust

Request: Development grant of £75,981 (71% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £1,317,851 (86% of total costs) 

Project: Great Yarmouth's historic Grade II listed Ice House sat at a prominent, gateway location overlooking the River Yare at the South Quay. This project would repair and restore the building to create a training and teaching facility for outdoor arts and circus, 650-person event venue and riverside café/bar/terrace space.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East agreed the application represented a HIGH priority for support and AWARDED a first round pass of £1,317,851 (86% of total costs) including development grant of £75,981 (71% of eligible development costs).

Reawakening the Abbey of Waltham; NL-21-00194 

Applicant: Epping Forest District Council

Request: Development grant of £124,400 (87% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £510,500 (87% of total costs)

Project: This two-year project, followed from a one-year development phase, would occur at Waltham Abbey Gardens; a park beside Waltham Abbey town centre, Essex. It aimed to conserve and better interpret the most significant Abbey ruins, share the site’s archaeology, improve habitats and involve the community.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East agreed the application represented a MEDIUM priority for support and AWARDED a first round pass of £510,500 (87% of total costs) including development grant of £124,400 (87% of eligible development costs).

Restoring Pugin; NL-21-00197 

Applicant: Nottingham Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees 

Request: Development grant of £277,558 (60% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £524,858 (60% of total costs)

Project: Built on previous Heritage Fund investment, Restoring Pugin presented a collaborative approach to reinstating important heritage features at Nottingham’s only Cathedral, raising its profile and links to place, and diversifying its audiences. The project would research and reinstate AWN Pugin's original decorative scheme at Nottingham Roman Catholic Cathedral.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East agreed the application represented a MEDIUM priority for support and AWARDED a first round pass of £524,858 (60% of total costs) including development grant of £277,558 (60% of eligible development costs).

Making available the heritage of All Saints, Sandon whilst securing its future heritage; NL-21-00106 

Applicant: Sandon with Burston Parochial Church Council

Request: Development grant of £94,056 (81% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £440,540 (85% of total costs) 

Project: This project, located at the Grade 1 listed All Saints Church in Sandon, would conserve and repair several key heritage assets within the church. As well as provide a complementary activity programme intended to engage new audiences, particularly younger people, to safeguard the church’s future.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East agreed the application represented a HIGH priority for support and AWARDED a first round pass of £440,540 (85% of total costs) including development grant of £94,056 (81% of eligible development costs).

Essential Networks: strengthening local resilience and diversity; NL-21-00196 

Applicant: Heritage Trust Network (HTN)

Request: Development grant of £208,944 (84% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £1,078,706 (86% of total costs) 

Project: A five year, UK-wide project that aimed to empower, service, support and enable small and medium sized community-led heritage organisations. Providing access to resources, learning and expertise to organisations committed to restoring and managing built historic buildings and places.

The Committee for England, Midlands & East agreed the application represented a HIGH priority for support and AWARDED a first round pass of £1,078,706 (86% of total costs) including development grant of £208,944 (84% of eligible development costs).

Our Birmingham Stories; NL-21-00179 

Applicant: University of Birmingham

Request: Development grant of £94,615 (46% of total costs) and potential delivery grant of £181,968 (59% of total costs)

Project: The University of Birmingham (UoB) proposed to design and test a new online depository archive of Birmingham City's history. This would be an opportunity for communities in Birmingham to share their stories, making them accessible to the wider public in a searchable database. 

The Head of Investment for England, Midlands & East using delegated powers REJECTED the application prior to the meeting.

Prioritisation of Development round applications

The committee awarded four applications with HIGH priority, two with MEDIUM priority and rejected one application.

For Information

Any other business

There was no other business to discuss.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 23 November 2022