The Creative Core are delighted to be part of the team behind the Newton’s Place museum and community space project which is now celebrating confirmation of National Lottery funding worth £800,000. The award, made possible by National Lottery players and awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), means the Newton Abbot Town Council scheme is on target to open in approximately 18 months’ time.

It will both provide a facility residents have repeatedly asked for and save the Grade II Listed former St Leonard’s Church from dereliction or conversion into flats. Project champion Cllr Mike Ryan described the grant as a vote of confidence in Newton Abbot and its people.

‘With this £800,000 award, and our first of £150,000 to help with development costs, the National Lottery has now invested £950,000 in our town and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful,’ he said. ‘We’ve a proud history and heritage to look back on and a great future to look forward to. Newton’s Place will be a community space with huge opportunities for the residents of Newton Abbot and the surrounding settlements.’

Nerys Watts, Head of HLF South West, said: “A community space fit for sharing Newton Abbot’s heritage has been a long-held ambition for many, now, thanks to National Lottery players, it is set to become a reality. As well as putting the museum in the heart of the town, this project will bring an historic building back in to use, giving people of all ages the chance to celebrate their past and look forward to their future.”

The Creative Core provided interpretive design for the HLF stage 2 bid and will now see the project through the delivery stage, with fit-out completion and opening expected in the winter of 2019/2020.