Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust has received £34,000 National Lottery support to help address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on heritage.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown began the Trust has been unable to offer its popular guided canal boat trips into the unique underground caverns and tunnels situated under the heart of Dudley. Traci Dix-Williams, Chief Executive at Dudley Canal Trust, said:

“Thanks to the National Lottery and its players, we can now plan and get in a position where we can get back to what we do best. We’re grateful that The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting us at this crucial time.

"It’s a lifeline to us and others who are passionate about sustaining heritage for the benefit of all.”

The funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. £50 million has been made available to provide emergency funding for those most in need across the heritage sector. The UK-wide fund will address both immediate emergency actions and help organisations to start thinking about recovery. 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 Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust during this uncertain time.”

Like the Canal Trust other charities and organisations across the UK that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus outbreak are being given access to a comprehensive package of support of up to £600 million of repurposed money from The National Lottery. This money is supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and span the arts, community, charity, heritage, education, environment and sports sectors.

Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for good causes, including heritage of local and national importance. By playing The National Lottery, people up and down the country are making an amazing contribution to the nationwide-response to combatting the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across the UK.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is currently open to applications for its Heritage Emergency Fund. To find out more, you can visit heritagefund.org.uk, or to find out more about National Lottery Good Causes, visit lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.