Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has welcomed the news from the Conservative Government that Bridgemary Library in Gosport has been awarded funding as part of the Cultural Investment Fund.
Bridgemary Library will receive part of the £150,031 awarded to Hampshire Libraries through the Libraries Improvement Fund, as part of the Cultural Investment Fund.
The fund, which totals more than £200 million and was launched in 2019, is made up of three separate streams: the Cultural Development Fund, the Libraries Improvement Fund, and the Museum Estate and Development Fund. It is designed to protect and improve people’s access to culture, level up local cultural venues, and use investment to promote economic growth.
The £20.5 million Libraries Improvement Fund will transform library services in England to upgrade their builds and improve digital infrastructure. This is the second round of the fund with 25 projects already benefiting from £5 million of funding in the first round.
This announcement follows a big boost for the cultural sector from the Conservative Government in the Spring Budget with an extension of tax reliefs for theatres, orchestras, and museum and gallery exhibitions for a further two years. These tax reliefs have already supported thousands of theatres and orchestral productions, galleries and museums across the country, and the extension is set to help the cultural sector continue to attract new talent and investment from home and abroad.
Commenting on the news, Caroline said:
“I am delighted to see such a large investment being made to Bridgemary Library. This will go a long way to safeguarding access to culture and the libraries services for years to come.
I know that libraries are cherished hubs of the community, and I am pleased that the government is supporting them to adapt to the new digital landscape.
This funding injection will go a long way to reinvigorating and encouraging access to library services in the constituency.”
Commenting, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:
“This investment will help to level up access to arts and culture for everyone, no matter where they live.
“Culture helps us create lifelong memories with our families and friends, provides entertainment and joy, and allows us to explore the world around us in new and exciting ways. It can also boost tourism, support local business and drive local economic growth.
“This funding will support brilliant arts organisations to upgrade their venues and create new projects that will be at the heart of their communities.”
