Cultural Development Fund success for Morecambe Winter Gardens

Morecambe Winter Gardens will receive £2.74m through the Cultural Development Fund – the single largest grant the building has received in more than 100 years.

The funding will support the next phases of the project to revitalise the theatre, including adding a new toilet block, improving circulation and evacuation routes, as well as continued restoration work.

The theatre has been on our Theatres at Risk Register since the list began in 2006 but has been huge progress in recent years towards the goal of fully reopening the Grade II* listed building for public performances. Theatres Trust has supported Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust throughout this time with advice and in 2019 we awarded the theatre a Theatres at Risk Capacity Building grant for governance and business planning support, which has been instrumental in unlocking other funding opportunities and progressing the project.

Morecambe Winter Gardens is one of eight projects supported through the fund, delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is the only successful project that is run entirely by volunteers.

The next round of the fund will be in 2024. Find out more about the Cultural Development Fund on the Arts Council England website.