The Malt Cross charity is delighted to announce their community venue has been awarded £49K in COVID support funding from the National Lottery’s Emergency Heritage Fund.
This generous grant has been allocated to help cover some of the essential costs incurred during the coronavirus pandemic as local heritage-centric organisations battle to survive this global crisis.
As a former Victorian music hall, the Malt Cross community and events venue features a café and bar and is housed in a grade II listed building on St James’ Street, off Market Square, which recently reopened in line with government safety guidelines.
With its very own cave network, the charity not only celebrates its rich history through diverse heritage tours for the community, but it is also home to the Street Pastors initiative, which sees volunteers patrol the streets of Nottingham to help vulnerable individuals by providing everything from a bottle of water or a taxi number to signposting for urgent housing support at its parent charity, Nottinghamshire YMCA.
The funding will support the delivery of PPE, cleaning and safety measures in the music hall in addition to the vital work needed to ensure the Malt Cross is able to run heritage tours and reactivate social activities for the benefit of our local community.
“During this pandemic, community support is crucial for deciding the fate of heritage venues in Nottingham and this funding could not have come at a better time,” said Joel Lydamore, Operations Manager at the Malt Cross.
“We would like to say the most heartfelt thank you to the National Lottery players for making this grant possible. Their valued support will help to ensure our beloved and iconic venue can continue to bring joy as a focal point for empowering local talent and bolstering community spirit safely at the heart of our city centre.”
Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All of these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis.
“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as Malt Cross during this uncertain time.”