Dear All,
I am happy to draw your attention to the following press release:
New heritage centre for East Lothian receives lottery boost
Plans for a new £7.6m archive, library, museum and heritage centre for East
Lothian have been given a welcome boost with the announcement of a ‘Stage
One Pass’ * for a grant of £1.39m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The
facility, to be called the John Gray Centre, will be created in converted
listed buildings on Lodge Street, Haddington.
The John Gray Centre will house the Haddington branch library, the East
Lothian local history centre, a museum and exhibition space and the East
Lothian archives. The National Archives of Scotland will return the local
archives to East Lothian where access to this rich collection can be
further developed and promoted through an innovative approach to heritage
centred on access, community involvement and education.
Community Services spokesperson, Cllr. Stuart Currie, said: “Today’s
announcement from the Heritage Lottery Fund is wonderful news which will
enable work to progress on the development of this integrated facility
which combines a branch library, local history and archives. We are also
awaiting the outcome of a funding application to Historic Scotland and also
plan to undertake other fundraising. There is a growing interest in
genealogy and national heritage and the new centre will provide an
invaluable resource for both local residents and visitors to research their
family trees or the history of their community.”
Commenting from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Colin McLean, Manager for
Scotland, said: “Today we have seen an extremely exciting milestone in the
cultural development of East Lothian. The John Gray Centre is an
imaginative solution to finding a new use for these historic buildings. By
bringing together records and archives we can actually touch the past while
learning, in the words of our ancestors, how the area has changed over
hundreds of years. The Heritage Lottery Fund is delighted to be able to
show its support at this stage and applauds the dynamic programme of
outreach and education activities which will allow the community to uncover
their roots.”
ENDS
As my colleagues in the Scottish region will already know, the project had
a bit of a bumpy ride last year. I'd like to thank everyone who gave us so
much support and encouragement during that time - it was greatly
appreciated.
Regards,
Siân
Siân Collins
Records Manager
East Lothian Council
tel: 01620 828223
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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