A NUMBER of projects have received support from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Programme.
These include the transformation of Royal Cornwall Museum and investment in the Cornish metal mining sector.
The 200-year-old museum and art gallery in Truro has received £2.1-million from the Good Growth Programme, which is managed by Cornwall Council and funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, which aims to help level up communities across the UK.
The funding will enable improvements to the museum’s main gallery, nature gallery, entrance and garden, including increased accessibility.
A programme of activity building skills in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths will also be delivered thanks to the extra cash, including school workshops, careers events, family activities and exhibitions.
Funding from the Good Growth Programme is the latest in a series of successful bids by the museum, including £250,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £1.5-million from Arts Council England, and £460,000 from the Truro Town Deal to refurbish its renowned Mineral Gallery.
Artistic director Bryony Robins said: “This funding will have a positive impact on so many people, enabling us to continue our transformation and improve the experience for visitors, allowing us to become more accessible to more people.
“The main hall and Heart of Cornwall Gallery will see improvements to how we share the story of Cornish heritage and culture, and the Nature Gallery - which is extremely popular with families and an essential story to be told in the face of climate change - will also be transformed.”
The Good Growth programme consists of £132-million from the government’s £2.6-billion Shared Prosperity Fund, which aims to help level up communities across the UK, and £5.6-million from the Rural Prosperity Fund.
It has also invested £4.7-million to make Cornwall a world-class region for mining metals used in technology industries, including tin, tungsten and lithium, which is a crucial element in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries. Direct recipients of this funding include Camborne School of Mines, the University of Exeter, Grinding Solutions Limited and Cornish Metals.
Jeremy Wrathall, founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium, said: “We congratulate our friends and partners at who will benefit directly from this latest tranche of government funding and look forward to collectively achieving a new era for mineral extraction in Cornwall and a Net Zero future.
“The world’s eyes are upon us as we work together to catalyse a new, environmentally-sustainable mineral extraction industry, which will reinvigorate the county’s 4,000-year mining heritage, create hundreds of specialist employment opportunities and stimulate economic prosperity in the region.”