Action plan for future of Newark town centre attractions announced
Plans that seek to secure the future of arts and culture in Newark have been announced.
Newark and Sherwood District Council is looking for new ways to promote and redevelop town centre attractions in an effort to keep them for years to come.
These include the £4.6m Newark Castle Gatehouse project, which will transform the landmark into a visitor attraction in the hope of bringing more tourists to the area.
The project has been part funded by a £2.6m Towns Fund submission, as well as a £1m contribution from the district council and a hopeful £1.3m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Leader of the council David Lloyd said: “There has never been more passion to secure the heritage of our town centre in a way that crosses over with visitor experience, events and attractions.
"We are working in close partnership with cultural organisations, the local voluntary sector and charity groups to deliver not just support, but a remarkable aspiration for our heritage, arts and culture which will benefit our residents and increase visitor numbers.”
It is also hoped the council’s heritage and culture offer, encapsulating the Palace Theatre and National Civil War Centre, will become a National Portfolio Organisation.
These are organisations invested in by Arts Council England and are seen as leaders in their areas, with a collective responsibility to protect and develop national arts and cultural ecology.
If successful, this could bring in an estimated £300,000 per annum of new funding over the next three years, as well as continuing to elevate the offer on a national level.
Initiatives including the Towns Fund Cultural Heart project and the High Street Heritage Action Zone cultural consortium programme also seek to repurpose and re-imagine the town centre.
The district has also been placed on the levelling up for culture priority places list— a selection of areas in which the Arts Council is committing to increasing funding where possible.
