Redruth wins bid to host archive and record centre for Cornwall
7:00am Friday 21st September 2012 in News
The former Redruth Brewery site has been chosen as the best site for a proposed new landmark archive and record centre for Cornwall.
The decision, at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Wednesday, September 19, means that the Council will now be in a position to submit an application for Heritage Lottery Funding by the November 30 deadline.
The decision means the council can now bid to secure up to £8 million to match the Council’s financial commitment to the project.
While the council says that there was a strong case for other sites, which included St Austell and Hayle, cabinet members felt that building the new archive and record centre in Redruth will result in huge economic benefits for the town, claimed to be £1.7million a year. The site is one of several zones which make up the now derelict Redruth Brewery site. It includes the Old Brewhouse and other structures which could be retained as part of the scheme.
A council spokesman said: “It was decided that this projection, added to the fact that Redruth is already home to a number of cultural hubs, and taking into account the potential to open up and regenerate the currently derelict brewery site, will bolster Cornwall’s bid for support from the Heritage Lottery Fund at the highly competitive ‘national’ level for grants above £5million.
Cornwall Council portfolio holder for culture Joan Symons said: “This project is a priority in the council’s culture white paper and will transform access to the extensive historic resources currently held across a number of sites. It will also offer a bespoke, modern facility which will enable new relationships with international partners to provide greater public access to the key Cornish manuscripts held in the collections of those institutions across Britain and beyond. “It will also ensure that the Council meets its statutory responsibilities to care for its archives appropriately and fulfils legal requirements with regard to access to information.”
