Biffa Award has pledged £1.5m over three years to the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) for the National Heritage Landmarks Partnership Scheme. The Scheme will create a high profile network of interpretation and education projects across the UK that will showcase the far-reaching changes in industrial development that have shaped our nation’s history.
Annual awards are allocated to projects that help transform derelict buildings and sites into inspirational resources that tell the stories of people, processes, industrial development and change.
AIM is delighted to announce 5 awards to the following organisations for projects in the first annual round with a total grant value of £480,000:
Birmingham Conservation Trust: Refurbishment of stamp presses and fly presses at Newman’s Coffin Fitting Works; producing community-led films and interactives which interpret the technology and reminiscences of former workers. (£44,676)
Brooklands Museum: Restoration and interpretation of Barnes Wallis’ Stratosphere Test Chamber and Control Room, to provide increased visitor access and an educational experience using Barnes Wallis as a role model. (£120,000)
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust: Stabilisation, repair and interpretation of the Bedlam Furnace and creation of a series of Monument Trails in the World Heritage Site. (£114,960)
Kew Bridge Engines Trust: Restoration works and refurbishment of the Babcock Room, formerly a boiler house, at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum as an exhibitions space with audio-visual presentation and interpretation of London’s water supply. (£80,364)
National Mining Museum Scotland: Conservation of the Rewasher Building at the Lady Victoria Colliery and creation of a community space with an introductory exhibition and resource for tracing mining ancestry. This project will create the first national mining memorial space in Scotland. (£120,000)
Mr Barrie Williams, Chairman of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust said “It is excellent news that the Trust has secured a Biffa National Heritage Landmarks Grant. This grant will help support the conservation and interpretation of Bedlam Furnaces, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, along with the development of a new monuments trail. As the site of the iconic painting ‘Coalbrookdale by Night’ by Philip de Loutherbourg, Bedlam Furnaces rates as one of the most important monuments in the Gorge”.
For further information contact: AIM’s Executive Director, Sam Hunt : henleymanor@btinternet.com, t: 01460 75222, m: 078 333 666 24 or Annie Bowden, PR and Communications Officer at Biffa Award: abowden@rswt.org. t: 01636 670062
Notes for Editors
AIM is a UK wide organisation that connects, supports and represents the interests of independent museums and heritage organsations. We are a growing organisation with a broad based membership ranging from large multi-site museums such as the Ironbridge Gorge Trust and Chatham Dockyard to the many volunteer-run community museums and heritage sites across the UK.
We offer advice and grant support to help museums improve their sustainability and conserve their collections. We also publish a series of Focus Papers and Fact Sheets on volunteer management and other aspects of museum operation. Importantly AIM provides a national network, enabling independent museums to share information and to seek advice on day to day issues they may be facing.
We believe that entrepreneurial approaches to museum development build successful museums and that independent governance provides the freedom and flexibility to enable this to happen.
Biffa Award, a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Group Ltd.
Since 1997, the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) has been awarding grants to environmental and community projects under the fund name Biffa Award. The fund administers money donated by Biffa Group Ltd, a leading integrated waste management business.
Under the Landfill Tax Regulations 1996, landfill operators like Biffa Group Ltd are liable for taxes on waste deposited in landfill sites. The Landfill Communities Fund allows them to donate a small percentage of their tax liability to projects working to improve communities living within the vicinity of landfill sites. To date, Biffa Award has awarded grants totalling more than £125 million to hundreds of worthwhile projects.
Image courtesy of the Science Museum