The Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust is to receive up to £500,000 through the Heritage Lottery Fund’s (HLF) Catalyst programme. The money will kick-start the Severn Valley Railway Heritage Endowment, which will create longer-term financial support for the Severn Valley Railway.
The grant will enable the SVR Charitable Trust to access different funding options, attract more funding by increasing its fundraising potential and help to develop innovative approaches to securing private donations.
Every £1 the SVR Charitable Trust raises for the Endowment, HLF will match, up to a ceiling of £500,000 – money which will be put towards the substantial annual restoration costs of the Railway’s extensive and historic collection of locomotives and carriages, built during the heyday of steam travel.
Restoring such a large collection of rolling stock, together with the skills needed to maintain them, is a huge physical and financial task. The SVR currently has a large back log of locomotives and carriages that are in urgent need of attention before they corrode into history.
The restoration of the rolling stock will provide the perfect projects to support the Heritage Skills Training Academy that the SVR will launch in 2013. Through such initiatives, it hopes to become the UK’s Heritage Engineering centre of excellence.
John Leftwich, campaign chairman for the SVR Charitable Trust, said that the Endowment project will enable on-going investment in the restoration of rolling stock, allowing the SVR to run to maximum capacity, generating additional income from ticket sales, which will aid its centre of excellence project.
He explained: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support, we plan to secure local and national support to help us create a £1 Million Endowment Fund over the next two years. We ask the general public as well as those closest to the Railway to help us raise vital funds to ensure this outstanding national treasure is preserved for children, families and enthusiasts to enjoy today and into the future.”
Explaining the importance of HLF support, Reyahn King, Head of HLF West Midlands, said: “Building financial resilience is vital to ensure the future of our precious heritage. With Catalyst, the Heritage Lottery Fund is offering heritage organisations like the Severn Valley Railway, the tools to develop longer-term financial independence so they can get fit for the future.”
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