Revamp of King's Lynn's St George's Guildhall 'full steam ahead' despite unsuccessful funding bid
The project to turn St George's Guildhall into a creative hub is still going ahead - despite an unsuccessful bid for lottery cash
Last updated 28th Sep 2022
A project to turn King's Lynn's St George's Guildhall into a 'Creative Hub' will still go ahead, despite an unsuccessful bid for money from the National Lottery.
The King's Lynn Town Deal Board had applied for £575,000 to help revive the UK's oldest working theatre and provide new creative spaces in the town centre.
Michael Baldwin Deputy Chair of the King’s Lynn Town Deal Board, said: “Seeking funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund is a competitive process and routinely the number and scale of applications exceeds the funding that is available.We felt that we presented a strong but very ambitious bid.”
“Although, we’re disappointed that the funders did not feel able to support us at this time, we’re heartened by the progress that’s been made.
"We’re still in a position where we can move our plans forward to sensitively protect and celebrate the heritage of these unique buildings, securing their long-term and sustainable future for the local community to enjoy.”
Senior Project Manager Mike Auger said: “The project already has a budget of nearly £9m, with just over £8m from the Government’s Towns Fund and a further £750k from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk’s capital funds.
"The lottery bid was a stage 1 bid for development funding of just under £600k, which if successful would have led to a stage 2 bid with a total ask of £3.3m.
"This funding gap was underwritten by the borough council, so progress on the project will continue as planned, as we continue to explore other sources of funding.”
Performances have been held at the building since 1445 and local legend has it that Shakespeare himself performed there in 1593.