Weston’s MP John Penrose has welcomed a new grant of almost £120,000 for Weston High Street’s Heritage Action Zone from Historic England.
The money will be put towards a unique three-year project designing and placing ‘21st Century super Shrines’, with the aim of creating ‘a sense of shared values and a new sense of worth’, on Weston’s High Street. It will be steered by a consortium of 11 organisations led by Culture Weston.
John said: “Even before the pandemic, out-of-town shopping malls and the rise of online-shopping posed a risk to High Streets everywhere, and of course Weston isn’t immune. Everyone knows traditional High Streets will have to change to move with the times. Arts and cultural displays are a great way to add fresh energy, life and fun to bring back local residents and visitors alike, improving footfall to help our local businesses.”
Notes:
The release from Historic England can be found here:
https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/high-streets-cultural-programme-awards-grants/
The grant builds on the £1.1million given to the four-year Heritage Action Zone project in 2020:
https://twitter.com/JohnPenroseNews/status/1307302830496247808
More on Weston’s Heritage Action Zone here:
https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/heritage-action-zones/weston-super-mare/