Telford Land Deal to the rescue for Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
The unique Telford Land Deal is to provide financial support to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust after it suffered the double hit of severe flooding and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Land Deal is a partnership between the Council, Homes England and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, with the Council taking the lead in site preparation in order to de-risk and accelerate sites coming to the market.
Telford & Wrekin Council pays a portion of profits from land it sells under the Deal into the LEP’s Marches Investment Fund (MIF) to drive growth and regeneration.
In this instance, the Land Deal Board and Marches LEP Board have now agreed that £230,000 of this money can be used to support Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust after it appealed for external financial support.
The Trust had warned that the effects of the worst flooding in 20 years and coronavirus presented an immediate threat to the continuing operation of the museum which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
Councillor Carolyn Healy, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet lead for the Ironbridge Gorge, said: “It is great news that the unique Telford Land Deal which is a partnership with Homes England and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership can support the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in this way.
“It has been a tough year for everyone but particularly in Ironbridge with the combination of the worst floods for 20 years and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Nick Ralls, chief executive of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “No-one could have foreseen a year like this one and we are very grateful to Telford & Wrekin Council, Homes England and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership for their robust and timely support.
“It is a very community-spirited move and I think highly appropriate that profits from the Telford Land Deal are reinvested in one of the borough’s biggest tourist attractions.”
Mandy Thorn MBE, LEP Chair, said: “The Ironbridge Gorge is the single largest draw for visitors attracting over 1.5million visitors a year.
“Around 40 per cent of visitors say the museums are the main reason for their visit and £60 million of visitor spend is generated in Ironbridge Gorge by the museums. It is of vital importance that the Trust is supported at this time – it is of strategic importance to the health of our regional economy.”
The funding forms part of a wider £1.58m injection from MIF for strategic tourism and business initiatives in the region.
The Trust has charitable status and has 10 museum sites and are responsible for over 30 historic buildings. It is expecting to partially re-open on 4 July in support of the borough’s visitor economy.
