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On Friday 4 November, representatives from the Heritage Lottery Fund and local MP Paul Farrelly visited the Belong Heritage Gallery project, to see how work on the conversion of the Grade II listed coach house is progressing.
The visit was part of a wider tour of Newcastle-under-Lyme for the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), who are helping to fund a trio of projects in the area. Earlier this year, the HLF granted almost £1.8m to support the renovation of the town’s former Maxims nightclub. Work is now underway to carefully transform the listed building into a public facility to celebrate the heritage of the local area and provide specialist resources and services for people living with dementia.
The Belong Heritage Gallery will stand at the heart of the town’s new £13.5million Belong care village. The state-of-the-art complex, offering 24-hour nursing and dementia care facilities as well as apartments for independent living, is due to open in early 2018. Prime, is developing the project for the award-winning, not-for-profit care provider CLS Care Services Ltd.
Emma Sargent, construction project manager for Prime said: “We were very grateful for the opportunity to show the HLF and Paul Farrelly MP the progress we have made on the Heritage Gallery so far, and how it fits into the wider redevelopment of the area. The site where the Belong care village will stand had fallen into disrepair in recent years, but thanks to investment from Prime and National Lottery players, we are breathing new life into the area to benefit the whole community.”
Elise Turner, HLF Development Officer for the West Midlands, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we are able to support a wide range of projects with funding amounts ranging from a few thousand to over a million pounds. What they all have in common is opportunities for people to connect to their local area through its history, and make a positive impact for people living there today.”
Paul Farrelly MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme said: “It’s great to see the wide range of projects underway and the significant impact they are already having to improve the town and the lives of people in it. There are some fabulous ideas being shared to develop these facilities and I hope people will be inspired to identify more opportunities to increase people’s awareness of Newcastle’s history and take pride in the local area.”