Black Country and Staffordshire libraries given slice of £4m grant to West Midlands

The cash windfall of £4 million will go to 11 organisations across the West Midlands to support important upgrades to museums and public libraries such as vital repairs, renovations and the development of digital infrastructure.

The money comes as councils across the area are struggling with budgets with budgets for libraries among those in danger of being included in cost cutting plans.

Staffordshire County Council has been awarded £199,000 for its Connecting Communities programme at Wombourne Library and Walsall Libraries will receive £180,000 to provide equipment to support people with dementia and their carers.

Dudley Council is being given £140,000 for planning and regeneration of local libraries and Sandwell Council has been given £180,000 so its Library and Information Services can create cultural spaces.

The big winner was the the Almonry Museum in Evesham which was awarded £2.2 million for works including repairs to the roofs, chimneys, windows and timber frame, electrical upgrades to alarms and security systems, new lighting and the replacement of garden path surfaces to improve accessibility.

The Coffin Works museum, in Birmingham, has been awarded £100,00 to help make the museum building more financially and environmentally sustainable for the future by tackling an urgent maintenance and repair backlog, while improving the safety of the collection and improving conditions for staff, volunteers and the public.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “The West Midlands has so many brilliant cultural organisations and I am delighted that its museums and libraries are benefiting from this £4 million of Government funding.

“I look forward to seeing how it helps to improve the services they offer the public — now and long into the future.”

Benjamin Parker, chair of Birmingham Conservation Trust, said: “We are proud of everything that has been achieved through the rescue of the Newman Brothers Coffin Works site. Since opening in 2014, from dereliction the space has become home to creative businesses, our fantastic staff and volunteer team, welcoming thousands of visitors every year.

"But, we are aware that the building is not fixed in time, and know improved environmental performance is critical to both the site’s sustainability and our operations as a whole. We are very grateful to the Museum Estate and Development Fund for enabling us to take proactive steps in equipping our historic building for a sustainable future."

All regions of England have received funding, which comes through the Museum Estate and Development Fund and the Libraries Improvement Fund, two parts of the Cultural Investment Fund.

The £20.5 million Libraries Improvement Fund transforms public library services in England by helping them upgrade their buildings and improve digital infrastructure, so they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people are using them. Local authorities can bid for the money on behalf of their library services.

The £86 million Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) helps fund urgent museum maintenance and infrastructure works. It is open to museums accredited by Arts Council England that are not directly funded by DCMS. This is the third round of funding, bringing the total amount of investment so far to more than £62 million for 93 museums.