13-Nov-2013
Communities, natural habitats and historic sites around the Bay will benefit, thanks to a £1.9 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The funding has been confirmed for Morecambe Bay Partnership’s Headlands to Headspace scheme - a five year programme to support communities to restore, enhance and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of Morecambe Bay and boost the local economy.
Projects planned around Morecambe Bay’s stunning coastline and headlands over the next five years include:
- Connecting and signing 200km of family friendly cycling routes to create a new Bay Cycle Way, stretching from Walney to Glasson.
- A major programme of community archaeology training to unearth the past that has shaped us and our landscape.
- Collecting and sharing stories through oral history projects looking especially at local fishing communities and traditions.
- Looking after the Bay’s precious natural habitats and tidal islands. Helping to make natural places better connected and better able to resist climate change.
- Creating unique maps of the area which will open up the Bay to new visitors and explore the richness and variety of our hidden assets and histories.
The £2.9m Headlands to Headspace scheme will run from January 2014, and will be funded by the HLF and contributions from other local and national funding sources.
Susannah Bleakley, Morecambe Bay Partnership’s Executive Director, said: “We are thrilled that the HLF is providing funding for this fantastic scheme, which will greatly benefit local communities and make the Bay area even more vibrant. We want to encourage everyone to find out more about the Bay and its special heritage and get involved in looking after it. We believe this will be a catalyst for community renewal, and bring a boost to the Bay economy."
Councillor Clare Feeney-Johnson, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet member for Environment, said: “Headlands to Headspace is a very exciting initiative which will bring communities closer together and safeguard the rich heritage around Morecambe Bay. This investment will create a lasting legacy, allowing future generations to enjoy this unique environment and attracting new visitors.”
Sara Hilton, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund North West, said: “We are committed to supporting imaginative projects such as this. They bring together both community groups and public bodies with a shared passion of caring for our environment. Today’s HLF investment for this distinctive landscape will not only strengthen those partnerships but also capture the enthusiasm of local communities.” Thanks to Michelle Cooper for these cheerful images, courtesy of Lancaster Maritime Museum, part of Lancashire County Council Museum Service.
