Brading Roman Villa is among the local museums and libraries to benefit from a £12.6 million funding boost.
Fourteen cultural venues, local museums and libraries, including Brading Roman Villa, are set to benefit from a £12.6 million funding boost, helping to ensure that everyone can access arts and culture in the places they call home.
Venues ranging from Theatre Royal Winchester, Whitchurch Silk Mill and Surrey Libraries will receive a much-needed cash boost to help open up access to facilities, complete much-needed building projects and upgrade technology on site.
In total, 130 organisations across the country are receiving a share of funding today, marking the first projects receiving cash from the government’s Arts Everywhere Fund. As the cost of living continues to affect families across Britain, funding for these venues will help provide welcoming, affordable spaces for communities to visit, come together and celebrate what makes their local area special.
Earlier this year, the Culture Secretary committed up to £1.5 billion to the cultural sector over this parliament, with the Arts Everywhere Fund aiming to save more than 1,000 cherished arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England.
Today’s £12.6 million funding for the South East, which is administered and delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is made up of three funds:
- The Creative Foundations Fund (CFF) has allocated £5.4 million to nine arts and cultural venues to help theatres, performing arts venues, galleries and grassroots music venues address urgent infrastructure needs across the South East. In this round, organisations such as the Hexagon, Reading, will benefit £2,068,000 from the scheme, where the theatre’s seating and equipment will be updated to improve audience experiences.
- The Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND) has allocated a share of £3.6 million to support four local museums across the South East to undertake vital infrastructure works, and improve the visitor experience. Organisations supported in this round include £3,080,000 to Walmer Castle, where the historic fabric of the building will be protected from water ingress, to preserve the castle and its collection. In total the fund has supported 150 local museums over the past four years.
- The Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) has allocated £50,000 to Surrey Libraries. The fund has already supported 95 projects across England over five years and this round will support Surrey Libraries to create enhanced work and relaxation spaces at nine libraries.
Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, said:
“I want everyone, everywhere to feel a sense of pride about where they come from. Cultural organisations across the South East are important custodians of local identity and play a key role in the story we tell ourselves as a nation.
“Our Arts Everywhere Fund is delivering on our commitment to support cultural assets across the country, increasing access and preserving them for future generations. This is demonstrated by grants announced today that will benefit fourteen culture venues, museums, and library services across the South East.
“Arts and culture are the beating hearts of our communities, they have the power to unite us in the face of division and break down barriers to opportunity. We want to harness the power to help us build a brighter future for the people of the South East.”
Hazel Edwards, South East Area Director, Arts Council England, said:
“We are proud to support this new wave of investment through the Museum Estate and Development Fund, the Libraries Improvement Fund, and the Creative Foundations Fund.
“These programmes are strengthening the cultural infrastructure that communities rely on every day, from vibrant local libraries and much-loved museums to the creative organisations that bring imagination and innovation to our towns and cities
“This funding will help safeguard historic buildings, modernise essential public spaces, and ensure that cultural organisations can continue to thrive, adapt, and inspire.
“By investing in the foundations of our cultural lives, we are helping to secure a more sustainable, more accessible, and more creative future for people across the South East and beyond.”
Other Examples of Funded Projects Include:
- Turner Contemporary (CFF) has been awarded £865,000 via Kent County Council to address building risks, improve accessibility, enhance sustainability through solar panels, and upgrade mechanical, electrical and gallery systems to meet international exhibition standards. These works will safeguard building performance and support long-term environmental and financial resilience. By securing the infrastructure required for world-class exhibitions and inclusive engagement, funding will enable Turner Contemporary to sustain its artistic excellence, visitor experience and community impact.
- Brighton Dome (CFF) has been awarded £468,701 to complete essential upgrades to the 1,800 seat Concert Hall, last refurbished 25 years ago. This first phase project has been funded to focus on modernising production lighting and sound, renewing IT network infrastructure, upgrading assisted listening systems, and improving ventilation to enhance sustainability, accessibility, and long term operational viability.
- The Brickworks Museum (MEND) has been awarded £280,000 for a project focused on urgent repairs to the roofs and rainwater goods of two original drying sheds, safeguarding rare structures that form an important part of the nation’s brickmaking history and ensuring they remain stable, weatherproof and accessible for future generations.
- Brading Roman Villa (MEND) has been awarded £80,707 of funding for a project focused on urgent repairs, enabling the provision of efficient and environmentally sustainable heating systems, ensuring visitor spaces remain accessible for future generations.
The next rounds of these funds will open for applications in the coming months. Further details on the Museum Estate and Development Fund, and the new Museum Transformation Programme, along with the Libraries Improvement Fund will be announced in due course.
About Brading Roman Villa
Brading Roman Villa is an accredited museum which aims to promote the history and culture of Roman life in Brading and the Isle of Wight.
It aims to maintain and sustain Brading Roman Villa as a leading heritage site on the Island by having an active role locally and to be a welcoming, inspirational, cultural, educational and community hub, developing heritage and cultural partnerships to engage a wide audience through a programme of events, education, outreach and community engagement and environmental sustainability.
About Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture.
Between 2023 and 2026 we will have invested over £467 million of public money from Government, alongside an estimated £250 million each year from The National Lottery, to support individual practitioners, arts organisations, museums and libraries, and to help ensure that people in every part of the country have access to culture and creativity in the places where they live. Visit our website to learn more about our work.
Creative Foundations Fund Recipients:
South East
- Worthing Borough Council – £371,278
- Brighton Dome & Festival Limited – £468,701
- Watermill Theatre – £300,000
- The Mill Arts Centre – £135,000
- Kent County Council – £865,000
- Portsmouth New Theatre Royal – £450,000
- The Hexagon, Reading – £2,068,000
- Turner Sims, Southampton – £350,000
- Play to the Crowd, Theatre Royal Winchester – £398,000
Museum Estate and Development Fund Recipients:
South East
- Walmer Council – £3,080,000
- The Brickworks Museum – £280,000
- Whitchurch Silk Mill – £210,045
- Brading Roman Villa – £80,707
Libraries Improvement Fund Recipients:
South East
- Surrey Libraries – £50,000
