News Article

Plans to create a spectacular Great North Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne have been given a £5 million seal of approval from the TyneWear Partnership, via Single Programme Funding from One North East.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Great North Museum is set to be a flagship visitor attraction incorporating the Hancock Museum's natural history collections with the archaeological and ethnographic collections held in Newcastle University's Museum of Antiquities, Shefton Museum and Hatton Gallery. The new Museum will be housed in a completely refurbished and extended Hancock Museum building, with its prominent location at the northern entrance to the city.

This latest funding announcement, which represents the second largest portion of the £26 million needed to complete the project, affirms the TyneWear Partnership's belief that the Great North Museum will play a major part in the regeneration of the city, creating a tourist attraction that will draw visitors into the region from the whole of the UK and beyond, and acting as a gateway to the North East's wealth of natural and man-made heritage.

Professor John Goddard, Newcastle University's Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Great North Museum project director, said: 'The TyneWear Partnership's support is fantastic news for the project. It recognizes how much importance this region's policy-makers place upon the project and its ability to be a key visitor attraction, bringing visitors both from within and outside the region.'

Chris Thompson, Chair of TyneWear Partnership, said: 'Cultural initiatives like the Great North Museum project have an important and transformational role to play in the regeneration of the area.

'As well as celebrating its rich heritage, this facility will contribute greatly to the region's reputation as a cultural hotspot.'

John Holmes, Director of Regeneration and Tourism at One North East said: ‘I am especially pleased that the Museum of Antiquities will benefit from this funding. It houses many important artefacts unearthed from the Roman occupation of the North of England and will act as a catalyst for more people to visit existing sites along Hadrian's Wall.

'With the establishment of the new organisation to manage Hadrian's Wall, we can begin to create a step change in the way people perceive the Wall and ensure it becomes the must-see worldwide visitor attraction it deserves to be. For years the region's rich cultural heritage was something visitors discovered, but the time has now come for us to boast about our unique history to a global audience', he added.

The Great North Museum project team also learned this week that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given final approval for the Great North Museum, and has confirmed the allocation of £8.75 million towards the project after the detailed proposals for the Museum were submitted to the HLF in September 2005. 

Keith Bartlett, Regional Manager for the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: 'This is one of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s biggest ever grants to the region – an amazing £8.75 million – and will ensure that the city has a Museum where its fantastic, internationally important collections can be displayed in surroundings that will inspire and captivate visitors.

'The new museum will enable a much deeper exploration of the past and it will be a great focus for the developing Cultural Quarter in Newcastle.'

Professor John Goddard added: 'That we have been able to confirm both these vital strands of funding is a credit to the quality of the plans for the project, and the reputation of the partners involved. We look forward with anticipation to work getting under way to turn our vision into a reality.'

 For further information on TyneWear Partnership call 0191 548 5860 or visit www.tynewearpartnership.org.uk

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