Historic West Midlands buildings set to benefit from heritage funding

Two Black Country buildings are among the first four buildings to benefit from the new funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), working in partnership with the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF).

Matthew Boulton’s and James Watts’ Soho Foundry in Smethwick and Walsall Imperial theatre and cinema have been given funding along with the Golden Lion, in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, and the Old Print Works, in Balsall Health.

There are 10,500 historic buildings across the region and the loss of the iconic Crooked House pub in Himley last year brought into sharp focus the affection in which local people hold them, prompting this direct action by the WMCA to help protect and champion them.

As well as financially supporting plans to restore these historic buildings to bring them back into use, the WMCA has set up a Heritage Taskforce as the first regional body to advise on how they can be protected and reused for many generations to come.

The taskforce’s members are drawn from a range of local organisations and national bodies such as West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust, Historic Coventry Trust, Arts Council England, Historic England, the AHF, and local authorities.

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, said: “We’re blessed with some 10,500 heritage buildings right across our region.

"They all have wonderful stories to tell about our past but an equally important role in our future and creatively reimagined as places powering employment, education and social wellbeing.

“We’ve seen elsewhere in our region the high regard local people have for this everyday heritage when it comes under threat.

"And it’s through this new funding and the taskforce we’ve set up that we’re demonstrating our determination to continue to do all we can to safeguard our historic buildings, unlock their potential and find new uses to ensure they continue to serve their communities for many more generations to come.”

Under the guidance of the WMCA’s Cultural Leadership Board, more than £8 million is being invested into the region’s culture and heritage sectors, which were among the hardest hit by the Covid pandemic.

Three years ago, the WMCA also drew up the first ever Cultural Infrastructure Map, listing 10,500 locations across the West Midlands that are considered to be of historic or cultural significance, to help raise their profile and attract investment to safeguard their futures.

Matthew Mckeague, chief executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) and a member of the WMCA’s Heritage Taskforce, said: “AHF and the WMCA share a belief in the transformative effect that heritage, and in particular the creative reuse of historic buildings, can have on communities and places.

“Over the past few months, our new partnership has enabled grants to four exciting projects aiming to revitalise old buildings."

Councillor Patrick Harley, WMCA portfolio holder for culture and digital, and leader of Dudley Council, said: “Sadly, action to protect our heritage buildings is not always taken early enough to prevent them from falling into disrepair or being lost for ever, as we saw with the much-loved Crooked House pub.

“We have set up this taskforce as part of an £8 million investment in the region’s cultural and creative sector to take a proactive role in advising what we can do sooner to care, protect and most importantly to help write new chapters in the stories of these wonderful buildings.”