Projects to restore Hastings pier and Kew’s temperate glasshouse are among five major schemes given initial approval for a share of £52 million in funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, in UK.
The Victorian Pier at Hastings, East Sussex, closed in 2006 and last year was hit by a fire, leaving its future under threat.
An £8.75 million local community bid to help restore the pier, which has played host to musical greats such as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Pink Floyd, received initial backing including £357,400 cash to allow them to develop the plans in an attempt to secure the funding.
And the Victorian Grade I listed Temperate House at Kew, home to a vast array of palms and plants such as the tea bush and a species of quinine bark which is used to treat malaria, has won initial approval for £15 million funding from HLF.
If awarded, the money will go towards a £28 million restoration programme for the glasshouse, the world’s largest surviving Victorian glass structure, and its surrounding landscape.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, have been given £890,900 funding to develop their plans for the Temperate House.
Stephen Hopper, professor and director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: “The Temperate House is an iconic World Heritage structure that is an important part of the UK’s rich architectural heritage.
“HLF’s initial support for the project along with underwriting from Defra and the support of Eddie and Sue Davies has given us great momentum to launch further fundraising and bring the restoration project to fruition.”
The other projects which have been given initial support from the HLF include the Windermere Steamboat Museum in the Lake District to reinvigorate the collection of 40 vintage vessels and provide boat conservation apprenticeships.
The British Museum World Conservation and Exhibition Centre project has won initial backing for developing the museum’s north-west corner of its Bloomsbury site and the Geffrye Museum, set in the former almshouses of the Ironmongers’ Company, which looks at the history of the home, has plans for a comprehensive redevelopment of its site .
Dame Jenny Abramsky, who chairs the HLF, said the projects were exemplary and would have a real impact on people’s experience of heritage.
Hastings Borough Council leader Jeremy Birch said the initial success of the bid to save Hastings Pier was a tribute to the hard work of local campaigners.
He said the bid would be challenging because the Pier Trust would have to raise 10% of the funding and convincing plans would have to be drawn up to show how the pier could be managed and maintained in the long run.
“There are still risks and pitfalls. There are certainly big challenges but the HLF’s decision is the best news we could have hoped for and makes the rescue of Hastings Pier a real possibility,” he said.