Tag: leisure

£1.57 billion to protect Britain’s cultural, arts and heritage institutions

  • Future of Britain’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues will be protected with emergency grants and loans
  • Funding will also be provided to restart construction work at cultural and heritage sites paused as a result of the pandemic

Britain’s arts, culture and heritage industries will receive a £1.57 billion rescue package to help weather the impact of coronavirus, the UK government has announced.

Thousands of organisations across a range of sectors including the performing arts and theatres, heritage, historic palaces, museums, galleries, live music and independent cinema will be able to access emergency grants and loans.

The money, which represents the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture, will provide a lifeline to vital cultural and heritage organisations across the country hit hard by the pandemic. It will help them stay afloat while their doors are closed. Funding to restart paused projects will also help support employment, including freelancers working in these sectors.

Many of Britain’s cultural and heritage institutions have already received unprecedented financial assistance to see them through the pandemic including loans, business rate holidays and participation in the coronavirus job retention scheme. More than 350,000 people in the recreation and leisure sector have been furloughed since the pandemic began.

This new package will be available across the country and ensure the future of these multi billion-pound industries are secured.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK’s cultural industry is the beating heart of this country.

“This money will help safeguard the sector for future generations, ensuring arts groups and venues across the UK can stay afloat and support their staff whilst their doors remain closed and curtains remain down.”

Oliver Dowden Culture Secretary said: “Our arts and culture are the soul of our nation. They make our country great and are the lynchpin of our world-beating and fast growing creative industries.

“I understand the grave challenges the arts face and we must protect and preserve all we can for future generations. Today we are announcing a huge support package of immediate funding to tackle the funding crisis they face. I said we would not let the arts down, and this massive investment shows our level of commitment.”

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “Our world-renowned galleries, museums, heritage sites, music venues and independent cinemas are not only critical to keeping our economy thriving, employing more than 700,000 people, they’re the lifeblood of British culture.

“That’s why we’re giving them the vital cash they need to safeguard their survival, helping to protect jobs and ensuring that they can continue to provide the sights and sounds that Britain is famous for.”

The package announced today includes funding for national cultural institutions in England and investment in cultural and heritage sites to restart construction work paused as a result of the pandemic. This will be a big step forward to help rebuild our cultural infrastructure.

This ‘unprecedented’ package includes:

  • £1.15 billion support pot for cultural organisations in England delivered through a mix of grants and loans. This will be made up of £270 million of repayable finance and £880 million grants.
  • £100 million of targeted support for the national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust.
  • £120 million capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England which was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • The new funding will also mean an extra £188 million for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland (£33 million), Scotland (£97 million) and Wales (£59 million).

Decisions on awards will be made working alongside expert independent figures from the sector including the Arts Council England and other specialist bodies such as Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.

Repayable finance will be issued on generous terms tailored for cultural institutions to ensure they are affordable. Further details will be set out when the scheme opens for applications in the coming weeks.

GoFitba kicks off this Friday

Local children from Forthview Primary School are to have the opportunity to participate in an exciting 12-week community project delivered by The Scottish Football Partnership Trust and The Spartans Community Football Academy.

GoFitba is a free to access football-based health and wellbeing project for Primary schoolchildren developed by The Scottish Football Partnership Trust and delivered by community football clubs.

The project aims to support the Curriculum for Excellence’s Health and Wellbeing outcomes as set out by The Scottish Government’s Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007.

Through a fun and progressive structure and delivery, the weekly two-hour project offers young children a platform of regular and fun physical activity and an understanding of the importance of leading a balanced and healthy lifestyle through diet and nutrition.

The project also aims to increase the young people’s self-motivation, improve their self-confidence, further develop their social and interpersonal skills and improve their general self-esteem.

The project timetable provides one structured afternoon per week and takes a holistic approach to teach the children the benefits of regular physical activity within a football environment.

The youngsters participate in an hour of fun football activity, and during the second hour of each session they take part in an interactive educational journey to explore the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle through diet and nutrition.  Each session ends with the children being served a hot, healthy meal and an opportunity to enjoy some social time with their peers.

Stuart McCaffrey, Chief Operating Officer at The SFP Trust said “The sport of football when used positively can act as a significant tool for personal and community development.

“We are excited to be delivering this project with (name of club) – a club truly at the heart of the community – and to be given the opportunity to positively engage with local school children to encourage them towards a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Douglas Samuel of The Spartans Community Football Academy said: “We are delighted to be working in association with The SFP Trust on this project which will see The Academy welcome 20 local schoolchildren over the next 12 weeks.

“Spartans Community Football Academy is always looking for new ways to engage with the local community and the GoFitba project is a fantastic way to showcase what we can offer to young members of our community at our excellent facilities here at the Academy.

“Participation in sport can bring a lifetime of benefits and we look forward to working with the children from Forthview Primary School to Get Fit, Get Healthy and Have Fun!”

Starts Friday: FREE swimming session for women and girls at Craigie

Starting this Friday: FREE swimming sessions for women & girls at Craigroyston High School!

All swimming abilities & all ages from P6 up welcome. All places MUST be booked in advance – book online here: https://www.joininedinburgh.org/activity/17585/

Travelodge to open six hotels in the lead up to Christmas

Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain announces it is opening six hotels in the lead up to Christmas. This equates to an average of one hotel opening every 12 days. 

One of the new hotels is at South Gyle. Continue reading Travelodge to open six hotels in the lead up to Christmas

Don’t stop the music: Temporary reprieve for Leith Depot

Leith Depot has been given a temporary reprieve as the battle to Save Leith Walk continues.

In a statement on their Facebook page, the popular music venue said: ‘Folks, on the back of a positive meeting with our landlord, we are pleased to say that we have agreed a lease extension until 31st of October.

For the time being, we continue business as usual and we will update you all when we know more.

Due to the circumstances we have nothing booked in our venue; please get in touch for any gig or event dates; depotvenue@gmail.com

Thank you all for your continued support!

LD

A spokesman for the Save Leith Walk campaign said: “While we welcome news that Leith Depot is being allowed to stay open for a month beyond its current lease, we are disappointed that the landlord didn’t allow the other business, which were successfully trading in the red sandstone building, to remain open too.

“Nevertheless, we hope that today’s announcement is a sign of the developer’s willingness to now work with the community and secure the long-term future of this building so it can continue to be a home for locally-owned, independent shops and businesses.”

The campaigners are looking into the possibility of a community buyout and a public meeting has been organised for 9th October.

Stars old and new set to take the stage at the Usher Hall this Autumn

Some of the biggest names in rock and pop music, from 80s legends to current chart-toppers, are coming to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall this Autumn.

The Autumn gig season highlights exactly why the Usher Hall is one of the best places to catch the biggest names in music, from modern popstars to veteran legends. Continue reading Stars old and new set to take the stage at the Usher Hall this Autumn

Paths for All launch online health walk map

Navigate your way to better health!

We’re delighted to launch the country’s first online map showing hundreds of organised health walks in every corner of Scotland.

The new online resource shows when and where local walks are taking place as well as information about how to join them.

Over 670 walks have been registered nationally so far, from Lerwick to Dumfries and Galloway, and we are now encouraging the public to get online and join their nearest Health Walk to improve their health.

The walking map aims to make it easier for people to become more active while meeting new people in their local community. The walks are free, low-level and last around 30 minutes.

Ian Findlay CBE, Chief Officer at Paths for All, said: “Regular walking is such a powerful tool that can do wonders for your social, mental and physical health and we hope that this new map will make it easier for people to get involved in Health Walks. 

“People are often surprised by how a simple, weekly walk can become such a big part of their lives. We see people build strong friendships on Health Walks and discover little bits about the local history and wildlife of the places where they live that can give them a whole new meaning and stronger sense of community.”
The volunteers who lead the walks have been trained, know the most accessible routes for people of varied abilities and ensure a warm welcome to new walkers.

There are also specialised walks, especially for people with dementia and those who have been affected by cancer.

Ian added: “There’s room for everyone on our Health Walks and we encourage you all to have a look at what’s taking place in your local area and join in.

“We expect this fantastic tool to be a big success and look forward to seeing more routes and organised walks being added to the map over time as the walking community across Scotland grows.”

The Health Walk map can be accessed at: www.pathsforall.org.uk/healthwalkfinder