Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Newcastle City Council has been awarded a £176,466 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help develop proposals to save St John’s Cemetery and Westgate Hill Cemetery in Elswick.
The council will continue its partnership work with the Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust to deliver this project, and will seek to engage local people in ways to improve the two historic cemeteries.
Dating back to the 1800s, the Grade II-listed cemeteries are currently in need of “major” restoration after suffering years of deterioration and anti-social behaviour.
The project aims to explore how the sites could be reused in the future with the support of creative engagement specialists.
Survey work will be carried out by specialist consultants to better understand the importance of the cemeteries, and the condition of the buildings at St John’s. This phase of the project will shape the plans for the larger project to restore the cemeteries and remove them from the national Heritage at Risk register, for which further funding will be sought later.
Cllr Alex Hay, deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, who is also responsible for registrars, crematoria and cemeteries, said: “Generations of people have been laid to rest in these cemeteries, so they play an important role in our communities. Due to years of funding pressures, they have deteriorated which is terribly sad, but we hope this funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will help to reverse that decline.
“Empowering local people to get involved in this project will better inform the work that needs to be done in the cemeteries, and I hope as many people as possible do get involved.”
Helen Featherstone, director of England, North, at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, added: “It is great news that Newcastle City Council will develop proposals for these important sites.
“Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, and what better way to do that than to ensure that local communities are at the heart of formulating plans for this fantastic restoration project.”
As the largest funder for the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has pledged to support projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in its Heritage 2033 plan. Over the next eight years, the Fund aims to invest £3.6bn raised for good causes by National Lottery players.
