Funding boost for Leeds Heritage Theatres to help address impact of coronavirus at three city venues

Three of the Leeds's most unique and historical cultural venues are to benefit from a major funding boost as they cope with the impact of coronavirus.
Leeds Heritage Theatres has received £119,900 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.Leeds Heritage Theatres has received £119,900 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Leeds Heritage Theatres has received £119,900 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Leeds Heritage Theatres has received £119,900 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help address the impact of COVID-19 on its three heritage venues - .Leeds Grand, City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House.

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Together they have been open for more than 400 years and attract more than 350,000 people every year to see a wide range of shows, performances and films and employ around 200 staff.

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Since the doors to closed in mid-March, the company has lost 99 per cent of its income - earned through ticket, bar and merchandise sales- and furloughed 96 per cent of staff; with a small team being kept on to manage customer refunds, reschedule performances and maintain necessary administrative functions.

Chris Blythe, CEO of Leeds Heritage Theatres, said: “Since our venues ceased trading due to the pandemic we have been doing everything we can to ensure our survival throughout this period, as well as prepare for the economic uncertainty that will follow, including drawing on our reserves which we had planned to invest back into our three heritage buildings.

“This grant is a lifeline, and whilst it won’t quite see us out of the woods (we are waiting to hear if we have been successful in our bid for emergency funding from the government), we’re hugely grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting us at this crucial time; it’s invaluable to us and others who are passionate about sustaining heritage for the benefit of all.”

The UK-wide funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. £50million was made available to provide emergency funding for those most in need across the heritage sector and to help organisations to start thinking about recovery.

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The money awarded to Leeds Heritage Theatres will be used to fund re-opening costs across The Grand and City Varieties, including signage and PPE.

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as Leeds Heritage Theatres during this uncertain time.”

Like Leeds Heritage Theatres, other charities and organisations across the UK affected by the pandemic are being given access to a comprehensive package of support of up to £600 million of repurposed money from The National Lottery.

This money is supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and span the arts, community, charity, heritage, education, environment and sports sectors.

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